Author Archives: ICLMG CSILC

Resources against Islamophobia

Credit: Lorie Shaull/Flickr CC BY

January 29th marks the anniversary of the attack on the Quebec City mosque that killed 6 men and wounded 19, as well as the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia.

ICLMG is committed to combatting Islamophobia as it is both a cause and a consequence of the racist foundations and applications of national security. To highlight this tragic event, we have put together this resource list against Islamophobia.

Despite many hateful incidents reported in the media in the last year, and the obviously Islamophobic character of the January 29, 2017 massacre, many people seem to think that Islamophobia is not real, and that the word was created recently to stifle free speech and criticism of Islam.

We know that this is not the case and that this belief is an attempt to divert attention from the very real Islamophobic attacks on Muslims. Others might be aware that Islamophobia is real, alive and kicking but be unsure how to combat it. Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of resources that may help you better understand and/or show others what Islamophobia is, and how to fight it. Feel free to use and share them widely!

ICLMG’S RESOURCES

Press release: New watchdog report finds government approach to counter-terror audits of Muslim charities is flawed, raises substantial concerns of bias and discrimination (2025)

Report: The CRA’s Prejudiced Audits: Counter-Terrorism and the Targeting of Muslim Charities in Canada + Action! (2021)

ICLMG’s 20th anniversary publication: Defending Civil Liberties in an Age of Counter-terrorism and National Security (2024)

Islamophobia and the ‘War on Terror’ – Monia Mazigh

What 20 Years of Injustice has Meant for Us – Sophie Lamarche Harkat

Loss of Human Rights in the ‘War on Terror’: The Case of Hassan Diab – Roger Clark

The Fight for the Return of Canadians Detained in Northeast Syria – Justin Mohammed

Canada Bring Them Home! – Xan Dagenais

Kids on Canada’s No-Fly List – Khadija Cajee

Fighting to Abolish the No-Fly List – Tim McSorley

ICLMG testifies at Senate committee for its study on Islamophobia in Canada (2023)

Vidéo: Countering Islamophobia in Canada: After 20 Years of the “War on Terror”, Azeezah Kanji in Conversation with ICLMG’s Tim McSorley​ (2021)

Briefs for the National Action Summit on Islamophobia:

National Security and Islamophobia in Canada, written by ICLMG, July 20, 2021

Islamophobia in Canada, co-prepared by ICLMG’s Tim McSorley and Azeezah Kanji from the Noor Cultural Centre, July 22, 2021

Azeezah Kanji, Always Already Suspicious: The Inherent Racism of National Security, transcript of talk at ICLMG Fall Assembly, 2017.

REPORTS DOCUMENTING ISLAMOPHOBIA

Islamophobia Research Hub (2025). “Documenting the ‘Palestine Exception’: An Overview of Trends in Islamophobia, Anti-Palestinian, and Anti-Arab Racism in Canada in the Aftermath of October 7, 2023.” Islamophobia Research Hub, Toronto: York University.

The Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combatting Islamophobia: For a more inclusive Canada, Office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, 2024.

Islamophobia on the rise: Taking action, confronting hate and protecting civil liberties together, Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, 2024.

Combatting Hate: Islamophobia and its impact on Muslims in Canada, Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, 2023.

Amnesty International UK (2023). The Prevent duty and its chilling effect on human rights.

EDUCATION

islamawareness.ca: A series of excellent courses for educators, schools and other learning environments, along with other important resources including toolkits, videos and infographics, from the Muslim Association of Canada.

islamophobia-is.com:

5 excellent short videos explaining the several facets of Islamophobia

Extensive list of resources to fight Islamophobia

Continue reading

Civil Liberties Coalition Welcomes the Release of Canadian Hassan Diab

Update: Hassan Diab is now back, safe and sound, in Canada with his family.

Jan. 12, 2018 – After a decade-long ordeal, French judges have dropped all allegations against Canadian Hassan Diab and ordered his immediate release.

“We are overjoyed for Hassan, his partner Rania, and their two children, that this ordeal is finally coming to a close,” said Tim McSorley, national coordinator with the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. “That Hassan Diab was extradited in the first place continues to raise serious questions about Canada’s judicial process. For now, though, we look forward to seeing Hassan safe and sound back in Canada.”

Hassan Diab was arrested by the RCMP for extradition to France in 2008, on allegations that he participated in the 1980 bombing of a synagogue in Paris that killed 4 bystanders. He was extradited to France in 2014. Since then he has spent more than three years in pre-trial detention, as investigative judges weighed whether to proceed to trial.

Since 2008, the ICLMG has joined Rania, Hassan’s lawyers, the Justice for Hassan Diab support committee and others in questioning the evidence presented against Hassan, and criticizing the Canadian extradition system that allowed him to be sent to France in the first place.

It is important to remember that at the time of the extradition hearings, Justice Maranger described the evidence against Hassan as “illogical”, “very problematic,” and “convoluted,” but that the low threshold for evidence under Canada’s extradition law left him no choice but to commit Dr. Diab to extradition. “It will be important to remain vigilant to ensure that no other Canadian faces the ordeal that Hassan has been through,” said McSorley.

The ICLMG congratulates Rania, Don Bayne and all of Hassan’s lawyers, and the support committee for their tireless work in ensuring that an innocent man was not forgotten and is finally being freed.

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Tim McSorley
National Coordinator
International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
613-241-5298 / 514-561-9919

ICLMG’s Video Explainer 3 on Bill C-59: Does the National Security Act Fix Bill C-51?

Watch our 3rd video explainer on Bill C-59, the new National Security Act, and the changes it would bring to C-51, the Anti-terrorism Act of 2015. One of the Liberal government’s main arguments in favour of Bill C-59 is that it would “fix” C-51 – but is that true? Spoilers: IT’S NOT. Watch our video to find out why.

TAKE ACTION TO CHANGE BILL C-59

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Watch the other videos of the Bill C-59 series

Since you’re here…

… we have a small favour to ask. Here at ICLMG, we are working very hard to protect and promote human rights and civil liberties in the context of the so-called “war on terror” in Canada. We do not receive any financial support from any federal, provincial or municipal governments or political parties.

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