Statement of Solidarity with Afzaal family and Muslim Community

 

We grieve with the Afzaal family and the Muslim community in the wake of Sunday’s Islamophobic attack in London, Ontario, that has left four family members dead and one young boy orphaned.

 

Sunday’s act of racially motivated hatred comes on the heels of the discovery of the 215 children buried in the mass grave at the Kamloops residential school, the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, an increase in racial violence against Jews and Asians, and news of a violent homophobic attack on a Torontonian last weekend. 

 

Everyone living in Canada deserves to feel safe. The vibrancy of our community is its diversity. There must be a zero tolerance policy against actions that promote hatred of Muslims, and other victimized communities. 

 

Feelings of fear and hopelessness, particularly in racialized and marginalized communities, are understandable. Those traumatized need safe spaces to process and compassionate acts of care and sincere prayers for justice and healing from the rest of us. We encourage you to reach out to members of your community who might be struggling at this time, with a simple expression of care and without expectations that they will respond at this time.

 

We also need to move beyond thoughts, prayers, and kind deeds.

 

The Aftzaal family has called for everyone, “from the highest level of our governments to every member of our community” to take a strong stand against hatred. The anti-hate network has offered three action items to help fight Islamophobia in Canada: 

 

  1. Email and call your Member of Parliament, which you can find here.
  2. In the aftermath of the Christchurch attack, New Zealand created a royal commission that examined the media and content the terrorist consumed. We must do the same here. This didn't happen in a vacuum. We need to name the people and organizations who poured poison into the London terrorist’s ear.
  3. The government has been sitting on legislation against online harms, including online hate. While we don't know the exact circumstances that led to this terrorist attack yet, we can say definitively that addressing online hate will make attacks like these less likely. We want that legislation introduced immediately.
  4. Support the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), and others in their call for a National Action Summit on Islamophobia.
  5. Echo and promote any further calls to action from the Muslim community,
  6. Give to the family-led fundraising campaigns for the surviving child, here and here. 


We will continue to echo calls for justice from communities most affected by hate-motivated violence and promote any calls to action through our newsletters and social media platforms. 


Rev. Alexa Gilmour and David Allen


Minister and Chair of Council, Windermere United Church