By:Khadija Nadeem Gr 9
In a horrific act of Islamophobia, 4 out of 5 members of the Afzaal family were run over by a truck in London, Ontario. 9-year-old Fayez Afzaal is the only survivor of the terrorist attack that murdered his sister, mother, father, and grandmother. The murderer who targeted them because of their Muslim faith is now in custody with 4 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder. Although this shocking event blindsided many Canadians, the tragedy is only the result of what has become a breeding ground for violence. Negative views of Muslims and the Islamic religion are not as uncommon as we would like to believe in Canada and under the camouflage of “protecting democracy, freedom and the rule of the law”, Islamophobia and racist ideologies flourish. The biggest example of this is Bill 21. This Quebec law bans certain citizens from wearing religious symbols and follows decades of work of institutionalizing gendered Islamophobia. Through these policies, Muslim hate is being normalized leading to calamities such as the murders on June 6.
As I live my life here in Canada, I’ve become extremely aware of the hijab on my head. Aware of the clothes I wear, and aware of the colour of my skin. These symbols do not hurt anyone but have ground to trigger hatred and annoyance. I’ve become aware of the way I walk, behave and talk which is not meant to bring harm to anyone but apparently has the potential to bring someone to run me over with a truck because they think they have more right over this world than me. I’ve become aware of existing because apparently, my existence makes others angry. I’ve become anxiously aware that my family looks like the family that was a victim of the hate crime in London, Ontario. They wore clothes like mine, looked like me, probably spoke the same language as me. My clothes, my skin color, the language I speak, and especially the religion I follow, hurts no one. So I demand to exist without fear. I demand to exist without being hated.
