News Releases & Statements
NCCM welcomes establishment of Islamic Heritage Month in Ontario
-For Immediate Release-
(Ottawa – October 6, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties and advocacy organization, welcomes the establishment of Islamic Heritage Month in Ontario.
The Ontario legislature passed a unanimously supported bill today to officially recognize Islamic Heritage Month.
The bill was first introduced by NDP MPP Teresa Armstrong, and was co-sponsored by PC MPP Raymond Cho and Liberal MP Shafiq Qaadri.
“We thank the NDP for its leadership on this important gesture of inclusion and the signal it ...
News Release (Eng/Fre): Quebec Court says judge was wrong to ask Montreal woman to remove hijab
-For Immediate Release-
(Montreal– October 6, 2016) A Quebec superior court judge has ruled that a Montreal woman should not have been asked to remove her hijab during her appearance in a Montreal courtroom in 2015.
In a ruling issued Monday, Judge Wilbrod Decarie wrote that Judge Eliana Marengo’s requirement that Ms. El-Alloul remove her headscarf before hearing her case was against the law.
“The Tribunal sympathizes with Ms. El-Alloul and deeply regrets how she was treated,” reads the judgement, issued in French.
Legal counsel for Ms. El-Alloul ...
NCCM welcomes wide condemnation of anti-Muslim posters found at University of Calgary campus
"An act of hatred against one of us is an act of hatred against all of us."
-For Immediate Release-
(Ottawa – October 5, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties & advocacy organization, welcomes the swift condemnation of anti-Muslim posters that were posted at the University of Calgary.
According to media reports, around 40 posters with derogatory comments and images were discovered in various locations around campus. Calgary police were notified and the incident is still under investigation. Students, faculty, ...
City of Hamilton second municipality to pass motion to support Charter for Inclusive Communities*
Motion passes unanimously following arson attack on local mosque
-For Immediate Release-
(Ottawa – September 29, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent human rights and civil liberties organization, welcomes the City of Hamilton’s endorsement of its Charter for Inclusive Communities.
Last night, Hamilton City Council unanimously passed a motion to support the Charter, previously endorsed by over a hundred local city Mayors, City Councillors, federal and provincial members of parliament, police chiefs and other institutional repres...
NCCM welcomes release of Canadian professor held in Iran
Thanks Canadian government for its efforts
- For Immediate Release –
(Ottawa - September 26, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties and advocacy organization, welcomes news today regarding the release and repatriation of Canadian-Iranian professor Dr. Homa Hoodfar.
Hoodfar, a retired professor of anthropology at Concordia University who suffers from a neurological disease and had to be hospitalized during her detention, was originally detained on June 6. Critics argued that Hoodfar's imprisonment was part of a broader ...
NCCM welcomes Ontario government’s pledge to combat systemic racism and Islamophobia
Announcement latest in several positive national and provincial moves to confront anti-Muslim discrimination
- For Immediate Release -
(Ottawa – September 26, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties and advocacy organization, welcomes the Ontario government’s latest move to examine and confront systemic racism and Islamophobia through its recently created Anti-Racism Directorate (ARD).
In a mandate letter issued last week to the minister responsible for Anti-Racism, Minister Michael Coteau is tasked with meeting a ...
(Eng/Fre) Montreal woman denied right to wear hijab in Quebec courtroom goes to court today
-For Immediate Release-
(Montreal– September 22, 2016) Legal counsel for Ms. Rania El-Alloul, the Montreal woman who was asked to remove her headscarf by a Court of Quebec judge last year, will appear today to seek clarity about the rights of citizens to access the courts while wearing religious clothing.
The motion will be argued today by renowned constitutional and human rights lawyer Julius Grey, of Grey Casgrain, and Catherine McKenzie, accomplished lawyer with Irving Mitchell Kalichman (IMK). The NCCM’s vice-chair and lawyer Khalid Elgazzar will also be in ...
NCCM calls on federal government to seek return of Canadian held in China
-For Immediate Release-
(Ottawa - September 22, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties and advocacy organization, is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to raise the issue of a Canadian citizen unjustly held in China since 2007 with visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
According to human rights observers, dual national Huseyin Celil, was arrested in Uzbekistan and extradited to China to be tried and convicted in a faulty process that targeted him for advocating for the rights of the Uyghur minority in China. He was ...
NCCM urges government to apologize and compensate three Canadians for complicity in their torture
Canada must ensure that all of its actions are free from being implicated in torture
-For Immediate Release-
(Ottawa – September 20, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties & advocacy organization, is calling on the federal government to immediately apologize and compensate three Canadian Muslim men for contributing to their wrongful imprisonment and subsequent torture in Syrian and Egyptian jails over a decade ago.
“The Torture Files” is a new CBC investigation airing this week examining the role of ...
NCCM welcomes swift police response to arson attack on Hamilton mosque
-For Immediate Release-
(Ottawa - September 15, 2016) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties & advocacy organization, welcomes the swift action by Hamilton police to investigate and arrest a man who allegedly set fire to a mosque in southwestern Ontario.
According to media reports, a 34-year old man was seen setting fire to the front entrance of the Ibrahim Jame Mosque in Hamilton on Wednesday night. Local neighbours alerted police who were able to arrest the alleged arsonist.
"Hamilton residents and police should be ...