Stephanie Harrington
A 15-year-old Muslim boy was beaten in Ottawa when a group of teens blamed Arabs for September’s terrorist attacks in the United States. Assaults, death threats, egg throwing, vandalism, and graffiti increased. Name-calling, dirty looks, and physical altercations against brown-skinned or “Arab-looking” people increased. Children were ostracized from the school sand box because they were Muslim.
Life for many Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent was tense following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Some people in Ottawa are blaming them for the actions of a group of extremists who have perverted Islam to justify terrorism.
Ubah Hersi, a community worker at Women’s Place, has experienced this backlash first-hand. Normally she would stop to pray while running errands or shopping, since Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day. But two weeks ago,Ottawa was not normal. People gave her disapproving looks for wearing a hijab, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women. For the first time in her life as a Canadian Muslim, Hersi says her feeling of belonging vanished.
Hate crimes have doubled since Sept. 11. In response, the Ottawa Police Hate Crimes Unit has doubled, assigning four of officers to investigate 44 hate crimes (this number is not limited specifically to the anti-Muslim backlash). Incidents go unreported too, because people don’t want publicity or because some immigrants don’t trust the police out of fear.
The explanation that incidents of hatred are “knee-jerk reactions” is unacceptable. The cultural and religious misunderstanding of Muslims in western culture is deeply rooted. Emotionally-charged situations like this give ignorance a voice on the streets and hatred a platform in Ottawa newspapers and radio phone-ins. There are things being said now that would have been unacceptable on Sept. 10.
For example, Nadir Masood, from the Islamic Information and Education Centre of Canada, says someone called his fiancé “Hitler” because she is Muslim. Political correctness usually reigns in such ignorant utterances. Not anymore.
But let’s be honest. Everybody holds stereotypes. No matter how well educated, compassionate, or cautious a person is, everybody has preconceived notions about other cultures and religions. Many Centretowners agree. It’s difficult to deny. It’s part of our society’s need to simplify information, to easily label and understand the world’s complexities. Whether right or wrong, information is filed neatly in our brains, to be used when encountered with someone or something different.
Stereotypes might set the foundation for racism, but what matters is how people challenge or don’t challenge them. Racism is a continuum. On the positive end are people who work hard to identify, confront, and eliminate the stereotypes they personally hold. Somewhere in the middle are those who hide behind a veil of political correctness, never questioning their biases. Near the negative end are the blatantly ignorant people who don’t hesitate to voice racial slurs. The people who violently lash out against others because of stereotypes are the most dangerous.
Regardless of what stereotypes people hold, “sweeping stuff under the rug” is problematic, says Carl Nicholson, executive director of the Catholic Immigration Centre. Discussion needs to be open. Many people only want to talk about advances made in eliminating discrimination. These deserve to be celebrated and Canada’s society is far more equal and multicultural than the rest of the world. However, not discussing negative issues is detrimental to eliminating racism. Stereotypes are criminals robbing people of the ability to fulfill their progressive role in a multicultural, tolerant society. Stereotypes must be confronted.
How to educate the ignorant is a daunting task. If it starts on an individual basis however, education can erase ignorance one person at a time. Many non-Muslims are already taking this initiative. People are reading books about Islam. Five hundred people visited Ottawa’s central mosque in September to learn about Islam. Churches, clubs, high schools, and universities are scheduling lectures by Muslims from the Islamic Information and Education Centre of Canada on Lisgar Street. Volunteer numbers have risen at the Catholic Immigration Centre since Sept. 11. People are calling and writing heartening letters of support to mosques, newspapers, and to the Canadian chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
The positive relationship between people asking questions about Islam and the many Muslims answering them needs to remain reciprocal, open, and respectful. Don’t tolerate racist jokes, pointing fingers and mudslinging. Don’t allow this issue to slide into the recesses of people’s minds as the hateful incidents diminish either. Instead, seize ignorance and turn it into an opportunity to improve and educate our community.