We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

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Our London Family

June 11, 2021

On June 6th, 2021 a Muslim family of 5 were out on their evening walk and were attacked in an act of anti-Muslim hate [1]. Salman Afzaal, wife Madiha Salman, daughter Yumna Afzaal, and mother Talat Afzaal were killed, and the only survivor of the attack is the family’s 9-year-old son [1].

As allies, we must condemn anti-Muslim hate. The following tips are adapted from a guide created by The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to aid in the efforts of combating anti-Muslim hate [2].

We must...

Acknowledge the problem

Jagmeet Singh very truthfully said,

“Some people have said this is not our Canada… but the reality is that this is our Canada… our Canada is a place of racism, of violence, of genocide of Indigenous people and our Canada is a place where Muslims aren't safe.”

Raise awareness

You can raise awareness by making a post on social media to condemn anti-Muslim hate, engaging in conversations with friends and family about the topic, and educating yourself by seeking out resources to further your knowledge on Islamophobia and xenophobia. Listed below are some videos to aid in the understanding of what anti-Muslim hate is and how we can stop it.

Offer support to the Muslim community

Donate

You can donate to the official LaunchGood fundraiser page called “London Community United Against Hate” supported by family members, the London Muslim Mosque, Islamic Relief Canada, and NCCM.

Donate

Sign a petition

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NCCM (@nccm_community)

Sign petition

Gentle reminders

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah | Psychotherapist | RSW (@the.poc.therapist)

Share mental health resources

If you or anyone close to you is looking for mental health resources to cope with the current devastating events, here is a list of services that can be accessed [3].

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Federation of Black Canadians (@fbcfcn)

Support the Canadian Anti-Hate Network

The Candian Anti-Hate Network is an independently led, nonprofit organization consisting of Canada’s researchers and experts on hate groups and crimes. You can support their initiatives through one-time or monthly donations.

At this time, the group does not run an organized volunteer program due to a lack of funding. However, there are many ways you can play a hand in standing up to hate groups in your community and even across Canada. They suggest that interested individuals organize like-minded people in their own communities, find and collect information and be prepared to form responses to the activity of the associated hate groups [4].

Monitor hate groups

You can monitor hate groups through public social media pages and document/screenshot examples of overt bigotry and racism, celebrations of violence and incitement to violence, death threats and targeted harassment, event planning, infighting and leadership changes etc. Archive.org is a website you can use to save individual pages (it doesn’t work for social media pages). The best approach for social media pages would be to copy and paste entire Facebook pages alongside Twitter feeds to Microsoft word documents. It is important to ensure all the information that you collect is well-documented and verifiable by other observers. Once this compilation process is complete, send an email to info@antihate.ca.

Cancel hate groups

By being polite yet firm, you may speak with the venue owners and provide more information on the hate group and their intentions in convincing them to cancel the event. If they do not cancel, you can speak with family and friends, utilize local Facebook groups to encourage community members to forward emails and phone calls to emphasize the need to cancel [4].

Pitch the Canadian Anti-Hate Network a story

As mentioned earlier, you have the option of emailing info@antihate.ca. More specifically, if you have a story, send an email explaining the story, why it is important and what information you hold to back up your claims. They can pay you up to $100 for stories from members of the community and $200 for stories that are from individuals with some kind of professional writing experience [4].

[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-muslim-family-attack-what-we-know-1.6057745

[2] https://www.osce.org/odihr/infographic-muslim-security-guide

[3] https://www.instagram.com/p/CP4ZbYaFPv0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[4] https://www.antihate.ca/