Islamophobia an ongoing issue in Canadian society

praise and suggestions—besides one comment.

The student’s comment called her “unimpressive” as a professor, and then what she considered a more serious charge, “biased.”

Seven out of the forty readings she assigned for the class in globalization dealt with Muslim topics. According to Husain, the student said she chose readings that show Canada in a negative light.

She said since she began teaching in 2010, she’s never been accused of bias for integrating content based on Islam into the curriculum.

Husain said there’s a racism and Islamophobia problem in Canada, referencing hate crimes targeting Muslims have increased by 253 per cent between 2012 and 2015. Muslims who have immigrated to Canada are less likely to say they were discriminated against, Husain said.

“It happened to me, it happened in Canada, and it happened at Queen’s. It was painful, [but] it will not stop me from doing my job. Because playing nice will not keep me safe. I want my community safe,” Husain said. “Helping students to hold on to their rosetinted glasses is not my job.”

Diversifying Queen’s curricula can bring awareness to Islamophobia, Professor of Religion and History Adnan Husain said at the panel.

“Islamophobia, like many other forms of racial and religious bigotry and discrimination, are a global phenomenon. It requires coordination and solidarity,” Husain said in his opening remarks.

He explained how a recent study uncovered place for students to go kind of with other like-minded Jewish students. There’s Chabad, which is off campus. There’s a lot of resources on campus for students, which is something I’m very appreciative of,” Oshry said.

As the years go on, the last of Holocaust survivors, Jewish and non-Jewish, are beginning to pass away, so it’s important to listen to the stories of survivors, she added.

“[Holocaust education] needs to be integrated at a younger age, so that people can understand the impacts,” she said.

“The most important thing we can do is document living history so that we ensure that it consistently stays within our historical demographic.”

Oshry explained not one of her family members in the Holocaust became a survivor.

“I did personally have family that died in the Holocaust. That has a huge impact on [the] kind of the way that you view the Holocaust. Knowing that my family died in the Holocaust is very impactful. It really made sure that my family […] shared values of being able to stand up to antisemitism.”

“Be proud of your Judaism.”

Islamophobia in the workplace.

Women wearing niqab or hijab—facial or head coverings— reported the largest amounts of Islamophobia at work, according to the study. This includes difficulties entering the workforce or being held back from advancement. Around 60 per cent of participants in the study did not report incidents.

“Islamophobia is not just a matter of bigoted sentiments or prejudiced ideas. It has material consequences and works its way through actual discrimination,” Husain said.

Husain and Ariel Salzmann, a history professor at Queen’s, formed the Queen’s University Muslim Inclusion Network, an employee resource group to share experiences and advocate for Muslim-specific concerns, in October 2022. It’s open to anyone

SUPPLIED BY LEORA TARSHISH

from staff, faculty, or graduate students serving as TAs and RAs.

“We hope we’ll be able to make some changes on the campus here at Queen’s,” he said.

Salzmann addressed the silence surrounding Islamophobia in Canada. She and Adnan Hussain have been speaking together on Islamophobia since arriving at Queen’s. In 2015 they developed a full-year course on Islamophobia, and it was only taught once thereafter.

“It’s not like it’s just a small minority among the mainstream of Canadians that doesn’t want to talk about Islamophobia. It’s a big chunk of the Canadian elites who don’t want to see that discussion,” Salzmann said.

She connected Islamophobia to Canada’s larger picture of racism and right-wing insurgency.

“It’s very important to have these events, both to commemorate, but to speak out, and to make sure everyone should feel comfortable in speaking out and defending their rights as citizens of this country—and citizens of the world.”

Asbah Ahmad Senior News Editor

The waiting game continues. Claire Dobbie, BFA ’23, and co-president of the Fine Arts DSC, said there’s a general feeling of tiredness and burnout for current BFA students who continue to advocate for the program to continue without suspension.

Consultations are being held with students to determine the next course of action for the program. Suspension of admissions is an option on the table to ensure the program meets the goals of the cyclical program review, according to the University.

A decision on suspension has not been made, and is expected around Feb. 17, as discussed at Senate on Jan. 31.

“We’re at the whim of Barbara Crow [Dean Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS)], and we can’t really do much anymore; we’re existing,” Dobbie said in an interview with The Journal.

For Dobbie, advocacy efforts have taken up a lot of time for her and her fellow co-president. She said consultations have taken up significant proportions of students’ time, and it feels their voices aren’t being heard.

The consultation, for many BFA students including Dobbie, has felt like FAS gathering evidence to support a predetermined conclusion.

“The whole consultation process has felt like looking for evidence of their vision of how the BFA should go. Which the language has been pausing admissions. They’re getting our opinions to support their own ideas of what we need,” Dobbie said.

“We’re asking for promises, resources, and written out guidelines of what we’re going to do. They’re not meeting us