Muslims Hail Ontario Plan to Tackle Islamophobia in Schools
Ontario will partner with two Muslim organizations and spend $300,00 to combat Islamophobia in schools, Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced Tuesday, as targeted incidents of hate crimes against Muslims continue to rise.
The move comes after a Muslim family of five in London was targeted in a hit-and-run on June 6 that killed four and injured one, in what police say was a hate-motivated attack.
Aruba Mahmud, a supply teacher with the Thames Valley District School Board, said while she was pleased to hear about the funding, but that compliance needs to be mandated across the province.
"I'm really glad that a need is finally seen to fund this sort of education that is very badly needed," Mahmud said.
From the funding, $225,000 will be directed to the Muslim Association of Canada to create digital resources for educators, students and parents to raise awareness about Islamophobia, while the rest will be given to the National Council of Canadian Muslims to help newcomers navigate the country and help new students prepare for school in the fall.
Mahmud has been researching Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate within schools since 2010 and said "this is nothing new."
A spike in anti-Muslim attacks in recent years is significant, and only shows the ongoing growth of Islamophobia over the years, Mahmud said.
Statistics Canada data showed a 253 per cent increase in police-reported hate crimes targeting Muslims across the country between 2012 and 2015.
"There needs to be Islamophobia-focused training in professional development," Mahmud said. "I say that because a lot of Islamophobia in schools comes from teachers, not necessarily always intentionally, but research has shown [that]."
Resources are available online to the Muslim community but part of the problem is the lack of push to mandate them and ensure compliance within institutions, along with the lack of knowledge that they exist, Mahmud said.
Other Muslims in London echoed similar thoughts around the announcement.
Hooriya Ansari, who just graduated from Oakridge Secondary School and was the president of Muslim Students Association, was born and raised in London, Ont., and said more can be done to ensure Muslim students have support in schools.
Ansari attended three public elementary schools and said she experienced bullying
"I was the only one who wore a hijab in school and it really made me feel isolated," Ansari said. "I was pretty singled out for quite some time and I was bullied ... and they could have done more to provide support."
Ansari said it is important for the province to support smaller organizations to reach a wider impact in addressing Islamophobia.
TVDSB Director of Education Mark Fisher expressed optimism about the allocated funding.
"We're very pleased with Minister Lecce's announcement of funding for additional resources for educators and students to fight Islamophobia in schools, as well as help newcomer students to prepare for school in the Fall," Fisher said in a statement sent to CBC London Tuesday.
"The horrific death of one of our Muslim students and her family just a few weeks ago brings this issue very close to home, and we must do everything we can to promote awareness, and foster equity and inclusion in our schools."
Funding doesn't 'tap systemic nature' of issues
Eaman Fahmy, a Muslim community member in London, said Ontario must do more to address Islamophobia and racism within both small and large school boards across the province.
"In the realm of everything that needs to be addressed [this] is really quite superficial, it doesn't really tackle the root of the problem," Fahmy said. "It doesn't tap the systemic nature of these issues.
"The announcement to fund the organizations left a few questions unanswered for the community, she said.
"We have to ask 'What is it doing?' and 'What is it providing?' Is it really changing the system or is it just cosmetic?" she said. "The curriculum really needs to be overhauled and constructed with an anti-racist lens so it's not just Islamophobia but anti-racism in general. Islamophobia is one manifestation of the problem."
This includes looking into the authors being celebrated, which civilizations are being studied, and examining the voices and identities of students from marginalized communities that are not reflected in the curriculum, Fahmy said.
Examining hiring practices within school boards so they reflect the diversity of students is also an important way to get at the systemic issue of racism, she added.
Source: cbc.ca
