The 2021 edition of the must-own book about the movers and shakers in the Muslim World is now available. The Muslim 500 and its complementary website have become the world’s premiere source for a listing of the world’s most influential Muslims. And with each edition the annual publication increases its scope and depth. View Details […]

Late last month, Michael Theriault, a Toronto police officer, was acquitted of aggravated assault and attempting to obstruct justice. But the off-duty officer was convicted of the lesser charge of assaulting Dafonte Miller. Theriault’s brother, Christian, was acquitted of all three charges. The charges arose from an attack on 19-year-old Miller in 2016, when Miller […]

Cities exempting mosques from noise bylaws to allow the call to prayer during Ramadan have sparked a backlash in some quarters When the idea was initially floated during Ramadan that the Adhan, or Muslim call to prayer, would be publicly broadcast in non-Muslim majority areas, my Islamophobia radar went into high alert, thinking of the […]

Over the past few weeks, the three levels of government have taken the financial plight of Canadians seriously by introducing a number of measures ostensibly to ease the financial pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These benefits take into consideration a broad range of subcategories: those who have lost income; renters and homeowners; families; seniors; […]

Some religious institutions are continuing with their gatherings by limiting the number of worshippers. The risks are too serious given the composition of such gatherings and their proximity to each other. Every religious institution must lead by example and suspend all such gatherings. The vast majority of mosques exercised responsibilty and suspended prayers and gatherings […]

Our government must be held accountable to ensure that far-right ideology is removed from policies and practices of institutions that exist to serve and protect Canadians. Last month, 12 members of a German far-right group were arrested for allegedly plotting a large-scale attack on mosques similar to the ones carried out in New Zealand last […]

On the evening of Jan. 29, 2017, Aymen Derbali, father of three, told his wife he would spend his evening worshipping at Quebec City’s Islamic Cultural Centre. This seemingly mundane decision would change his life forever. That night, Derbali was shot by Alexandre Bissonnette seven times in an act of Islamophobic terrorism that shocked the […]

Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed has spent her first week in Canada after the country accepted her as a refugee. She made international headlines when she flew to Thailand and barricaded herself in a hotel while sending a series of desperate tweets for help to avoid deportation. She said she feared being killed if she was […]

I am a critic of Saudi Arabian human rights violations, but I still think Canada did the wrong thing in granting expedited asylum to Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun. The Saudi teen did exactly what anyone escaping alleged abuse and potential death would have done. She captivated the world on social media by barricading herself in an […]

Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, the Saudi teen who garnered international media attention after fleeing alleged abuse by her family, landed in Canada recently and was taken into the welcoming arms of Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. Freeland got a wonderful photo op with the teen who arrived wearing a hoodie emblazoned with “Canada.” Mohammed (she has now […]

Earlier this month, Americans celebrated the fourth of July, marking the country’s independence. It celebrates the Declaration of Independence, adopted on 4 July 1776, when the 13 US colonies declared themselves independent from the British Empire. In the minds of many, it is about freedom and equality – but defining what these concepts mean invites […]

Why we need to talk, now! How extremists in all camps (religious, secular, ethnic, etc.) have monopolized and hijacked the conversations and are leading us to conflict and disaster. The silent majorities in every group needs to step up to take the bull by its horns. We need to redirect the conversations to love, peace […]

“Wallahi (by God) I will shoot her right now,” says the man, obviously Muslim from his Middle Eastern headgear, as he places a gun to a girl’s head. Without spoiling the movie Black Panther for those who have not seen it yet, this is part of a scene in which the soon-to-be king attacks a […]

Six-year-old Mohammad says “Allah” and “boom”. The substitute teacher calls the police who question the child and then launch a terrorism investigation against the family. Child protection services also intervene for good measure. This sounds like a sick joke on Saturday Night Live. Except it is not. This is exactly what happened in the Texan […]

“We don’t have enemies, I repeat, we don’t have enemies. We have people who don’t know us,” eulogised Imam Hassan Guillet at one of two ceremonies for those murdered at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec in Quebec City on January 29, 2017. The terrorist gunned down his victims as they completed their evening prayers. […]

“Allahu akbar” (God is the greatest) is what New York terrorist, Sayfullo Saipov, reportedly uttered after plowing down innocents on the streets of New York last week. Many other killers have done the same around the world as they killed. Yet, these are the first words a Muslim newborn hears. I just did this less […]

Prosecutors announced recently that Alexandre Bissonnette will go straight to trial on a slew of charges arising from his attack on a Mosque in Quebec City earlier this year. Despite killing six and wounding 19 in the brazen assault on worshippers, he is not charged with terrorism. The announcement came on the heels of the […]

Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, an Egyptian-born legal scholar whose expertise in international criminal law brought him global renown and even a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, has died of cancer and related complications. He was 79 years old. “There is quite simply nobody like him in the international human rights law systems,” William Schabas, an international law […]

What do Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt and Israel all have in common? Well, other than checkered human rights records, they all seek to silence Al Jazeera. Though Israel isn’t party to the Saudi-led coalition targeting Qatar (and Al Jazeera), the Netanyahu government did cite Riyadh’s demands as inspiration in calling […]

Some Canadians have launched a campaign to revoke the honorary Canadian citizenship granted to Aung San Suu Kyi, the globally celebrated human rights activist who is now the de facto leader of Burma. The UN and human rights groups accuse Burma of ethnic cleansing. For decades, the million-strong Muslim minority living among 50 million Buddhists […]

By now many people have heard about the $35-million lawsuit against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) filed earlier this month. The 54-page statement of claim on behalf of five intelligence officers and analysts allege a toxic workplace where some managers and supervisors discriminate against Muslim, Black and gay employees. The pleadings (yet to be […]

Your name may dictate your apartment, degree, and career

I hereby condemn all past, present and future terrorism in my name

Fasting just one aspect of Ramadan

Non-Fiction: Say hello to my Muslim friend

French prosecution of Canadian Hassan Diab a travesty

Trump’s bombings may elicit the mother of all blowback

Lessons From Past Islamophobia and the Christian Response

U.S. border crossing numbers don’t tell full story: Opinion

No, Muslims are not taking over public school boards

The hate that Canada’s Islamophobia motion stirred up shows exactly why we need it

It’s time to ‘help’ Saudi Arabia restrain itself

Factors to consider about Sharia law and M103

It’s time to take back the reins

One person’s criminal may be another’s terrorist

Haters of Islam have been emboldened by rhetoric

Guilt, pain and India’s economic ritual cleansing

Eight reasons why Canada must repeal its anti-terror laws

Liberals must amend Anti-terrorism Act and add more oversight

Legal system not doing enough for racialized members

Muslims hold key to fighting terror

Fanatics are all the same

How Trump may make America sane again

Free Speech hypocrisy

When schools are not safe places for all children

National security framework needs major overhaul

Do all lives really matter?

Clarification on Islamophobia petition being circulated for signature (so that you can make an informed decision)

Legal Analysis of Parent who wanted to withdraw his children from music classes for religious reasons

What we all need to understand about the hajj

Reconciling Islamic ethics and practices

Why Obama must veto the 9/11 lawsuit bill

Why anti-Muslim hate statistics don’t tell the full story

American Islamophobia passes the ammunition to terrorists

Harper policies undermine deradicalization

Deradicalization, or disengagement from violence?

Let’s stand with all, not just some, terrorized people

Time to overhaul Canada’s no-fly program

Question Mark Zuckerberg’s Motives But Don’t Judge His Charity

Five Truths You Should Know About Terrorism And Islam

The Kim Davis Debacle Exposes the Limits of Religious Liberty

Black History Month: Celebration or tokenism?

The Miseducation of Ontario’s New Sex Ed Curriculum

I Am Not a Terrorist, Despite What My Critics Told a Senate Committee

Do Canadians know what they just voted for?

#JeSuisConfused

The drone ‘blowback’

GUEST COMMENTARY: Hajj brings inner peace, indispensable values

Those living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones

Time for Egypt to allow Khaled al-Qazzaz to return home

Secular fanatics and religious police: Just let us live our lives in peace

Is sharia influencing Italy?

Time to address homophobia among some Muslims

Michael Ratner: The Jewish lawyer who fought for Muslims and the US constitution

The disturbing agenda to rewrite India’s history

Live, let live and leave it to God to judge

How we swim in Canada

Canada must pressure Burma to end abuse of Muslim minority

Persecution of Christians in Middle East is profoundly un-Islamic

Entrapment decision a pyrrhic victory if Bill C-51 not amended

No gold medal for human rights at global sports events.