Canadian Heritage committee  It was not based on any sort of logical or principled reason. I also admit that the question of what Islamophobia is and how you define it has been used as a shield by some individuals. I'll admit that. That still needs to be addressed, though. People have asked, “Is criticizing Islam, or criticizing some political interpretation of Islam, a part of Islamophobia?”

Canadian Heritage committee  This comes up almost regularly at these committee meetings, that somehow, because the word “Islamophobia” is mentioned in this motion, all we are dealing with is the issue of Islamophobia. Of course, that is not true. The motion explicitly states “Islamophobia and all forms of...discrimination”.

Canadian Heritage committee  Similarly, Islamic organizations and advocacy groups from various cultures that follow Islam are already playing a valuable role in combatting Islamophobia and, in turn, broader instances of systemic religious discrimination. Obviously, advocacy groups are not the sole element in combatting systemic racism and religious discrimination, but they can and should play a role.

Canadian Heritage committee  Given the fact that we're almost certainly going to be pushed into a situation in which the majority on this committee will insist that we include the word “Islamophobia”, would it be satisfactory to define “Islamophobia” as I've just done—that is to say, violence or systemic racism, religious intolerance, or discrimination towards Muslims? Would that be a way of squaring the circle, as it were?

Canadian Heritage committee  Sir, Islamophobia is not just about Canada; it's a worldwide phenomenon. I wish Canada would stay out of it.

Canadian Heritage committee  Dr. Emil, I think the definition of Islamophobia that you referred to is that we should be talking about an irrational fear of Islam, but you had talked earlier about codified Saudi law and Pakistani law and how opposition in any form is basically seen as Islamophobia.

Canadian Heritage committee  When a self-declared Trump- and Le Pen-supporting white nationalist, far-right white supremacist, white male radicalized on the Internet walks into a mosque and executes Muslims in the act of prayer, and a motion is tabled to study the roots of Islamophobia to prevent such acts of terror given the alarming rise in Islamophobia, how on earth does a discussion come to be framed around Muslim extremism and radicalization? It is wrong-headed to treat those in need of protection from crimes as the perpetrators of crimes, to blame the victim, to shame the vulnerable.

Canadian Heritage committee  Khadr, there needs to be an indication of how the government will learn from its mistakes in terms of a prospective strategy of addressing Islamophobia within foreign affairs practices and information sharing, and its involvement in the global war on terrorism.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think we're asking for the protection of rights for everybody. We talked about Islamophobia based on the experiences of individuals who were attending and also based on the recent statistics from Canada that mentioned that Islamophobia is on the rise. It has increased to almost 60%.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think her definition is sufficient, and I support it. I haven't come up with a definition of Islamophobia. I think in her use of that term and in her framing of it she thinks anti-Muslim is an expression of Islamophobia, but Islamophobia is broader than that.

Canadian Heritage committee  M-103 has created great concern regarding the impact it will have on religious freedom and freedom of expression for us, our children, our grandchildren, and the generations to follow. Our main concern lies within the definition of the term “Islamophobia”, which is an unclear and confusing term. We all believe that the discrimination and prejudice against any individual based on their Muslim faith is intolerable and unacceptable. However, the ill-defined precept of Islamophobia can also be used to take away the fundamental freedoms of all Canadians to lawfully and respectfully criticize any Islamic religious idea.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thus, we strongly endorse the importance for your work on M-103 to be broad-based. An unbalanced emphasis on Islamophobia creates the impression that Canadian Muslims are the only victims of hate crimes. We are just as concerned with the source of hate crimes targeting Canadian Jews from within radical elements of the Muslim community.

Canadian Heritage committee  The point must be made that we do not see a distinction there, and that many members of our community who do not identify as Muslim also bear the brunt of Islamophobia. In our own work we have seen a rise in targeted racism against all of those communities. According to the 2016 hate crime report of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the incidence of Islamophobia hate crimes or incidents reported to the NCCM and the police or in the media has been steadily increasing with the most recent frequently targeted hate-motivated attacks having been on Muslim women and institutions such as mosques.

Canadian Heritage committee  I trust the hate speech laws in Canada, which I think are robust along with the legislative system. When somebody makes an accusation of Islamophobia, and if they appear before a judge, he or she will make a decision about whether that is, indeed, Islamophobic or a legitimate critique. In no way do I see Islamophobia as a way to not have difficult conversations.

Canadian Heritage committee  I quote: “Islamophobia is simply anti-Muslim discrimination or hate.” We all know that anti-Semitism means something like anti-Jewish discrimination or hate. We also know that homophobia means something like anti-gay or anti-LGBTQ discrimination or hate.