News Releases & Statements


NCCM CALLS FOR ACTION AFTER ATTEMPTED ISLAMOPHOBIC ATTACK ON TTC

(Mar 13, 2023 – Toronto)  The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) calls on the Toronto Police Service to investigate a hate-motivated crime that took place on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) on March 9, 2023 at around 5:00 pm. A woman wearing a hijab was threatened by a man brandishing a large knife between Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station and Finch West Station. The survivor ran for her life across several subway cars until a bystander helped by pulling the emergency alarm on the train.  The assailant asked the victim several questions about ...

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NCCM AND WSO LAUNCH MAJOR REPORT ON THE RASHTRIYA SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH NETWORK IN CANADA

March 1, 2023 (Toronto, Canada) Today, as Canadian officials begin meetings at the G20 Summit hosted by India, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) launch a major report — The RSS Network in Canada — that looks at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its supremacist ideology, and its influence network in Canada. The report – the first of its kind – tells a Canadian story, one that far too few Canadians are aware of, about the RSS network’s affiliates and groups, their work, and their place as part ...

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NCCM STATEMENT: ABU MARZOUK CASE HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR SUSTAINED SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF HATEFUL ATTACKS

January 31, 2023   (Mississauga, ON) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) welcomes the verdict today against two men who assaulted a Muslim family over four years ago in Mississauga, Ontario. In addition to the guilty verdicts, the judge specifically noted that the crimes were carried out with hatred for Arabs, or anti-Arab hate.  Mohammed Abu Marzouk, then 39 years old, was driving his wife and children near the Mississauga Valley Community Centre on July 15th, 2018 when he was beaten viciously by two men who also yelled racist and Islamophobic ...

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STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY OF MOHAMMAD ABU MARZOUK

January 31st, 2023   (Mississauga, ON) “On July 15, 2018 we saw the darkest side of humanity, one that we would not wish upon anyone. That evening, we were doing an ordinary thing like any other Canadian family, enjoying a beautiful summer evening at our local community centre with our friends, when Mohammad was viciously attacked. Today’s verdict offers some closure as we await sentencing. But we know we have a much longer road to recovery, for Mohammad, for our family, and collectively as Canadians. Islamophobia poses a dangerous threat in Canada and we must all ...

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FOR THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE QUEBEC CITY MOSQUE SHOOTING, IT IS TIME TO REMEMBER AND ACT BY JOINING THE GREEN SQUARE CAMPAIGN

(January 27th, 2023)  Quebec City, Quebec — This Sunday, January 29th, marks the second annual “National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia.”   On that day, we will remember again. We will remember that action starts with remembrance. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) calls on Canadians of all backgrounds to remember the fallen and reflect on the road ahead to combat hate.   Six years ago, an Islamophobic attack took the lives of six worshippers in Quebec City’s Islamic Cultural Centre. ...

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APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE ON COMBATTING ISLAMOPHOBIA A TURNING POINT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA

(January 26, 2023)  Toronto, Ont—Today, we mark a historic moment for Muslims in Canada—a major turning point in this country’s fight against Islamophobia with the appointment of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. NCCM would like to acknowledge all those who worked so hard to help bring about the Office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, which has finally become occupied.    We want to congratulate Amira Elghawaby on being appointed the inaugural Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. Establishing this ...

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NCCM WELCOMES PDSB’S HISTORIC ADOPTION OF ANTI-ISLAMOPHOBIA STRATEGY

(January 25, 2023)   Mississauga, Ontario—In yet another historic turning point for the fight against Islamophobia in Canada, the Peel District School Board (PDSB) has become the first school board in Canada to adopt an anti-Islamophobia strategy.    Community partners including the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) and the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) played an important role in helping to envision and craft this strategy in consultation with staff, students and families at PDSB. ...

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AFTER TAX OMBUDSMAN TESTIMONY, CANADA’S GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC RACISM AT THE CRA

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and dozens of leading community organizations across Canada have released an open letter to the Prime Minister to express concerns about the review currently underway of systemic racism and Islamophobia at the CRA.    After the publication of a report by NCCM and U of T, and months of community advocacy, the government called for a review into the problem at the National Summit on Islamophobia last year. However, the promise by the Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Lebouthillier to conduct a meaningful review ...

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NCCM APPEARS IN FRONT OF SUPREME COURT TO MAKE SUBMISSIONS ABOUT SAFE THIRD COUNTRY AGREEMENT

(Tuesday, October 11th 2022)  NCCM and other community organizations appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada last week to highlight the vulnerabilities of Muslim refugees who show up and are turned away along the US-Canada border because of an arrangement called the Safe Third Country Agreement. NCCM argued for an individualized assessment of Charter rights which accounts for the identity (religious and otherwise) of claimants.    The current arrangement allows Canada to turn back refugee claimants who show up at the border on the basis that they must try to ...

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LEADING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS URGE EDMONTON POLICE TO STOP USAGE OF DNA PHENOTYPING TECHNOLOGY IMMEDIATELY

(Edmonton - October 7th 2022)  The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), alongside numerous Edmonton community organizations (see below), is concerned about the usage of DNA phenotyping methods by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS). According to a recent EPS press release, the Service is utilizing, for the first time in its history, the controversial method of DNA phenotyping in the hopes of identifying a suspect.    This method is racist, dangerous, and not useful. We are calling for an immediate end to the Service’s usage of such an approach.   ...

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