On the occasion of Muslim Awareness Week and the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby answers questions from La Converse. Canada’s Special Representative for Combating Islamophobia explains her role, responds to critics and opens up about her own experiences as a veiled woman on a public mission in Canada. Interview.
Amira Elghawaby met our reporter and students from Converse School for an in-depth interview in her offices, nestled on the 5th floor of one of the federal government’s administration buildings in Ottawa. While the receptionist doesn’t seem to know her name, Canada’s Special Representative on Islamophobia regularly makes the headlines, particularly in Quebec.
This doesn’t stop this former journalist, supported by a team of ten people dedicated to the fight against Islamophobia, from continuing to play the interview game. She seizes every opportunity to advocate living together, inter-religious dialogue and awareness-raising.
Ms. Elghawaby, could you tell us what led you to accept the role of Canada’s Special Representative on combating Islamophobia?
Amira Elghawaby: I grew up here in Ottawa and had a very privileged youth. Even as the daughter of immigrants from Egypt, I was always really encouraged in school to share all of the diverse identities that I have. As the daughter of Egyptian parents, my faith and these identities were always very positively viewed. I always had a real hope that growing up in Canada meant being in a place where I could be fully authentic.
It was actually a decision I made in university to start wearing the hijab, and my father was the one who said to me, "Be careful, you might face discrimination." I remember thinking, "No, this is Canada! If I can’t be authentic to who I am and my identity here, then where in the world can I be?" At that time, I hadn’t even heard the word "Islamophobia." Given all the positive experiences I had in school, where principals and teachers encouraged me to share who I was, everything suddenly flipped upside down after 9/11. That was a wake-up call to the various forms of discrimination people can face here in Canada.
When this role came up, it really spoke to me. It was addressing a serious situation—Islamophobia. We had seen the massacre in Quebec City on January 29th, we saw the attack against a family walking in the street in London, Ontario—this was not the country I remembered from my youth. My kids were starting to get exposed to all of this, asking questions like, "Why do people hate us?" No parent should ever have to answer that question.
What does your position as special representative entail?
My role ensures there is a direct channel of communication between Canadian Muslims and federal ministers, including the Prime Minister. I advise on how policies impact people’s day-to-day lives and support federal departments in addressing systemic forms of Islamophobia. Many of the challenges we see today are remnants of post-9/11 policies that eroded civil liberties, not just for Muslims but for all Canadians.
Another key aspect of my role is raising awareness—through interviews like this one, discussions on media platforms, and federal initiatives focused on anti-racism. I also work on providing resources, such as a forthcoming guide on Islamophobia and materials to help communities address hate crimes. It’s a multifaceted role, and it has been a very busy two years.
At the beginning of your mandate, they were calls for your resignation from some particularly in Quebec. How did you handle that?
When my appointment was announced, there was an incredible amount of hope expressed by Canadian Muslims from coast to coast to coast. Having worked as a journalist and a human rights advocate, many people in our communities knew my work and were very heartened by this appointment. Of course, we anticipated that there would be criticism and discussions about things I had written in the past. What I did—what I believe anyone in this position should do—was listen. I listened to the concerns being raised and acknowledged the impact that words can have. It was important to have a dialogue, to clarify misunderstandings, and then to move forward with the important work ahead.
I believe every province has its own unique history and realities, and I recognize the concerns that some people have. However, the vast majority of Canadians—whether in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, or the Atlantic provinces—value inclusion and fairness. That’s what we need to focus on. So, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.
During this 7th Muslim Awareness Week, what is your message ?
Sometimes, we see negative narratives about our communities in the media, on social media, in newspapers, or on TV and radio. And we wonder, "Who are they talking about?" Because that’s not us. We are Canadians, just like anyone else. We wake up in the morning, get our kids ready for school if we have them, or prepare ourselves for work or school, and we head out wanting to do our very best—not just for ourselves and our families, but for society as a whole.
We have two paths in front of us. One is a path of polarization and division, where we view each other with suspicion and create laws that limit rights and freedoms. The other is a path where we choose inclusion, where we respect each other, and where our children can grow up in a society that allows them to be who they truly are. I have confidence that the majority of people want fairness, peace, and mutual respect.
How would you assess the progress in combating Islamophobia in Canada the last few years?
Islamophobia, like all forms of racism and discrimination, has not disappeared. We would like it to be eliminated, but the reality is that hate, division, and racism continue to exist. If we look at the past few years, we remember January 29, 2017: the night six Canadian Muslims were murdered in cold blood, simply for attending prayer at their mosque. Where do we stand now?
Unfortunately, online spaces have become a major factor in the spread of hate. We have seen at least a 400% increase in anti-Muslim narratives online in certain periods over the past year and a half. These attacks are not just about Islamophobia, but also about rejecting conversations on equity, diversity, and inclusion, and attempting to silence those discussions.
You are a woman, a Muslim, a hijabi, and a public personality. What is your personal experience with Islamophobia?
My experience with Islamophobia is of course that I’ve had over the years, as recently as this past weekend, faced harassment, faced Islamophobic discourse, and have been told really, really offensive things. Things that I wouldn’t repeat because I don’t want to sort of relive it myself and I also don’t want to harm others who are listening. If we dwell too much on what those who want to spread hate, then we may lose hope in how we function and participate.
So I’ve experienced harassment. Years ago a truck almost deliberately hit me when I just had my first child and was walking in my neighborhood here in Ottawa. I never reported to the police, like many victims of hate crimes don’t report to police. I was just scared and I ran home.
I have had those experiences but at the same time, it’s very important for me to say that for every one negative experience over my course of wearing the hijab, I had many very positive experiences as well. And I think that’s the only way I keep going, is thinking about all the kind people. Very recently when I had some harassment, several people who witnessed it came up to me and they said: “ That’s not right, we stand with you, what do you need, we want to help you.” Yes, I faced Islamophobia on a personal level, but I’ve also had great allyship as well.
The Quebec mosque bombing was a tragic moment in Canadian history. Why is it important to continue commemorating it?
I met the families of the victims of the massacre last weekend, and I can share with you what the widows told me. They told me how precious it is to see this work continue, and how much it means to them and their children that there is this national recognition for what happened.
These national days are about remembering and learning from history. What did we learn on January 29? We learned that negative rhetoric and hate on the Internet cause divisions in our societies. We learned that what our elected leaders say counts. The perpetrator of January 29 consumed a lot of hate on the Internet and on minorities through various platforms. He acted after the Prime Minister of Canada published a tweet in response to President Donald Trump’s “Muslim ban.” In this tweet the Prime Minister had mentioned that here, “Canada is a place where everyone is welcome.”
This is what drove the perpetrator, the murderer, the terrorist, to commit this horrible crime. Everything had been built on the rhetoric that Muslims are a danger, he wanted to “protect his family” from everything he’d heard unfairly about Muslims. He wasn’t able to distinguish the truth. He didn’t have the opportunity to meet Muslims.
How has this event influenced public policy and discussions on Islamophobia in Canadian society?
I’ve been working on Islamophobia since at least 2012, in a variety of spaces. I can tell you that we’ve been able to move forward and talk about the term “Islamophobia,” for a little while. There have been a lot of challenges to the term “Islamophobia,” but we’ve insisted on the fact that we’re experiencing this hatred, this discrimination. It’s Islamophobia. People have an irrational fear of who we are. They share all this false information. Some people in the public space are saying, “Are you saying we can’t criticize Islam? That’s going to affect our freedom of expression.” I reply, “No, of course you can criticize Islam, criticize what you like, but don’t defame Muslim Canadians, Muslim Quebecers or any Muslims.”
It took the murder of 11 Muslim Canadians for people to understand, it shouldn’t have taken so long. We should have had more help and support before all this happened. It took the loss of a family in London, the Muslims in Quebec City and the man who was stabbed outside the mosque in 2020. It took all these tragic losses for people to wake up and say this is really serious.
Since October 7, 2023, what impact has the war in Israel and Palestine had on Canada’s Muslim communities?
Over the past year and a half, since October 7th, what we have really seen is a significant rise of anti-Palestinian racism, of islamophobia, of anti-Arab racism, alongside antisemitism, and we condemn all of that. None of that is okay. And I think that it’s really tested our communities in different ways and one of the very first statements that I put out for my office was that Canadian Muslims were not going to allow themselves to go back to a time post 9-11 where we have to apologize and explain things that have nothing to do with us.
I’ve heard cases where, you know, a public servant who was from Gaza had very difficult, difficult times just thinking about and returning to what she had endured after seeing what was happening to her loved ones. And right here in Ottawa, she’s facing some repercussions at work simply for expressing how it was affecting her emotionally. That’s not okay!
Why is it important for you that Canada recognize anti-Palestinian racism ?
I know that Canadian Palestinians who are Muslim, but also Christian in other faiths, are going to experience anti-Palestinian racism that is connected and can be connected to Islamophobia, but is also distinct. It has been really important for my office to make sure that we help educate Canadians about this form of discrimination.
I was very much hopeful to hear directly from the Prime Minister his commitment to defining racism at the federal level. This is really important, because over the past year and a half, there have been efforts to almost silence those who are talking about anti-Palestinian racism.
There’s a case in, for example, one school here in Ottawa where a young elementary school child was online, put a little profile pic of the Palestinian flag, and the school principal berated this child online, saying that he was making other students feel unsafe. The student then said, “Well, you’re making me feel unsafe” and in the end, the principal had to apologize, because being Palestinian is their identity and they are Palestinian Canadians, and Palestinians have the right to that identity. I think that understanding that type of discrimination is really important, particularly in the climate of this one.
In this context of polarization, do you work with Jewish communities to establish a dialogue?
I know that it’s been a very, very difficult time for Canadian Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians, for Canadian Jewish communities as well. I have dear friends within the Canadian Jewish community for instance. Recently I met with a local, we just cried because the discourse about our case has been so negative and so divisive and faiths teach love and compassion and respect.
We’re hoping the ceasefire holds and that as peace slowly returns, again, there is no peace without justice. So that’s going to be an important part of this discourse. It’s not just ending the war, but ensuring that international humanitarian lives are respected and upheld. How do you have interfaith dialogues with communities if we can’t first establish that respect for human rights of each other?
Recently, we learned that the Supreme Court will hear the appeal against the Quebec government's Bill 21. What do you think of this decision?
What I have heard loud and clear from my visits in Quebec with Muslim women, is that Law 21 has had a very detrimental impact on their sense of belonging, on their sense of safety in the province. This is played out in various surveys and research that have been done. We’ve also seen a lower court in Quebec judge say that there are disproportionate impacts on Quebec Muslim women and in fact he described the law as cruel.
And so what I’ve heard since the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada to listen and hear the case, in which the federal government will be intervening as well, is that there’s hope. There is hope out there that our rights and freedoms as Canadians are not easily undermined, devalued, taken away from us. And I think this is really important for Canadians. No one should be treated differently. Everyone should have the same access to the same rights and freedoms.
When I get up in the morning, I should be able to wear what I want, to participate fully in society. I should not have to tell a little girl, little boy who wants to be a teacher or a police officer that that profession may be closed to them because of how they decide to practice their faith when they grow up. That’s not the kind of Canada we want, that’s not what the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is about.
We are currently observing, not only in Canada but in the rest of the world, a rise in conservatism. Are you concerned that this will be paralleled by a rise in Islamophobia?
As the rise of polarization happens around the world, where there are more and more spaces where division is really part of the discourse, we know that sometimes algorithms have been found to amplify posts and content that make people angry. And this is very distressing. The federal government put out a report, this past summer, that said the number one biggest threat to Canadians is the inability to distinguish between what is true and what is not true. And so all of these various trends are very concerning for anyone who cares about social cohesion.
Regarding Canada, aren't you worried that a new government might abolish your position?
My role is an independent advisor to the federal government and non partisan. My role is about providing advice and I will continue to do this work since my mandate is for four years. Whatever happens at the government level, we take it day by day. But so long as my mandate is here, I will do my best for Canadians to ensure and advance a society where Islamophobia and all forms of hate and racism are addressed.
In 2021, the Islamophobia Summit identified 61 recommendations. Have they been implemented?
A year after the summit, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) released a report evaluating the implementation of these recommendations. They found that at least 30% had been actioned or were in progress, and efforts are ongoing to increase this number. In the meantime, other reports have also examined Islamophobia, including a Senate report and a Justice Committee report that looked at its connection to anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism, forms of discrimination that have significantly increased over the past year.