Canada names first anti-Islamophobia advisor

• Canada has designated its first special representative to combat Islamophobia.
• Amira Elghawaby will take up the position to “serve as a champion, advisor, expert, and representative”.
• The appointment was hailed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Following multiple recent attacks on Muslims in the nation, Canada on Thursday designated its first special representative to combat Islamophobia.

According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, journalist and activist Amira Elghawaby will take up the position to “serve as a champion, advisor, expert, and representative to support and enhance the federal government’s efforts in the fight against Islamophobia, systemic racism, racial discrimination, and religious intolerance.”

Elghawaby, a proponent of human rights who spent more than ten years at public broadcaster CBC, is currently the director of communications for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and a columnist for the Toronto Star newspaper.

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Elghawaby’s appointment was hailed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “an important step in our fight against Islamophobia and hatred in all its forms.”

“Diversity truly is one of Canada’s greatest strengths, but for many Muslims, Islamophobia is all too familiar,” he added.

The Muslim community in Canada has been the subject of a string of horrific attacks over the past few years.

In London, Ontario, a man ran over four members of a Muslim family with his truck in June 2021, resulting in their deaths.

Six Muslims lost their lives and five others were hurt in an attack on a mosque in Quebec City four years prior.

Elghawaby recounted the names of those slain in the recent attacks in a series of tweets he sent out on Thursday, concluding, “We must never forget.”

A national meeting against Islamophobia held by the federal government in June 2021 in reaction to the attacks proposed the creation of the new position.

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