Answer
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Arif Virani, a Canadian lawyer and politician, who was elected in the 2015 federal election to the House of Commons of Canada, addresses this question in the video below:
Transcript:
Aisha Khaja: Welcome back. It is my pleasure to have in the studio with us Arif Virani, member of parliament for Parkdale High Park and parliamentary secretary for multiculturalism and minister of heritage.
Let’s hear his thoughts on the Canadian government’s response to the Quebec shooting and anti-Muslim policy south-of-the-border. Alright, thank you for taking the time and welcome to the show.
Arif Virani: Thank you very much for having me.
Aisha Khaja: So, I want to ask you what was your initial reaction when you heard about the Quebec mosque shooting in light of, you know all of the Islamophobic, rise in xenophobia that we are seeing not only in the US, but here at home as well, unfortunately?
Arif Virani: So, I’m a Muslim Canadian. My reaction was shock. It was horror. It was sadness. It was a feeling of loss and despair.
But in the days that have been since, it has come around to a feeling of hope, feeling of solidarity, and a feeling, a sense of the inclusion, of belonging, particularly with the sentiment expressed by my parliamentary colleagues.
But Canadians in general who are not of the Muslim faith but have embraced the religion, [who are appalled by] the loss of life, and the protection of religious tolerance in the country.
Aisha Khaja: So, how do you respond? You know, we have seen a lot of solidarity, a lot of other faith groups come together, but we’re seeing, you know, a rise in Islamophobia.
So, one example is that after one the funeral was happening of some of the members of the community who passed away, there’s another mosque was actually vandalized. So, how do we deal as a Canadian government and as a community with, you know, this anti-Islamic sentiment, this racism, this hatred?
Arif Virani: I think it’s multifaceted. The events that occurred on the date of the Montreal funerals where another mosque is vandalized, as you point out, are troubling. But we can’t prove ourselves to think that these things don’t exist. It will continue to exist.
What we need to do is we need to identify them, called them out. Not put information like that under the carpet, so to say. But we also need to redouble our efforts to not be complacent.
You hear parliamentarians, and other leaders talking about it all of the time: you have to be vigilant in the defense of these initiatives with poverty reduction, or homelessness, etc. When you’re talking about emphasizing Canadian diversity and Canadian values of tolerance and pluralism, you can never be complacent.
I took a lot of comfort from the statement in the house that was made by Joël Lightbound, the member of parliament at the particular community where the mosque is located in Quebec City. And he discussed what had transpired.
But he also talked about having not felt like he or Canada had done enough to stop the spread of this kind of attitude and this kind of hatred. And if you don’t stop it, you can see what happens when it bubbles over.
And I think that’s really the task of the challenge for all of us, whether you’re a Muslim Canadian member of parliament or a non-Muslim Canadian member of parliament, these are values that define us. but we have to keep being vigilant to protect them unless they get eroded.
Aisha Khaja: Now, how can we be more vocal? And I ask this question also of the Canadian government because, you know, Prime Minister Trudeau obviously made very positive remarks.
In [that] light, I want to take the conversation a bit further to Trump’s Muslim ban and, you know, Prime Minister Trudeau actually tweeted when that happened that, you know, we are a country that diversity is our strength and welcomes those who are fleeing persecution, etc.
But a lot of people are saying that, you know, that in directly referencing some of Trump’s policies shouldn’t the Canadian government be more explicit? And what’s your, how do you respond to that?
Arif Virani: So, my first response is that the Prime Minister has been to my, to everything that I’ve seen, and to my observation that standing in terms of leadership on this issue. And it doesn’t date to simply what happened on Sunday the 29.
It dates to going back to the electoral campaign, to his time even as [inaudible] member, where he has always embraced a policy that his father accepted in 1971, which is the policy of multiculturalism: that diversity is a source of strength not a source of difference.
He has been reaching out to us as Muslim parliamentarians. He’s been reaching out to us from community leaders around the country. He has been present. He’s been at funerals in Montreal and Quebec.
He has shown through his actions and statements that we are a country that will not tolerate this and that we’re stronger than those events sort of demonstrate [… transcript abbreviated do to length. Continue watching for full interview].
I hope this helps answer your question. Please keep in touch.
Walaikum Asalam.
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