OP-EDs


This Ramadan, the wave of Islamophobic incidents has gotten out of hand

Published in Toronto Star on April 20, 2023 By Steven Zhou It’s been a strange few weeks. Canadian Muslims just finished the holy month of Ramadan, a time of expected vibrancy and community. But happy times have been dimmed by a staggering spike in Islamophobic incidents across the country that have ruined the month for many. The dominant target seems to be mosques, where large crowds of Muslims are gathering for multiple daily prayers that can go late into the night. A few of these alleged incidents have made headlines. Like the man who tried to drive his ...

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With hate on the rise, it’s a tough time to be a young Muslim in school

Published in National Observer on September 20, 2022 By Steven Zhou Imagine going to school worrying about someone threatening to kill you. Or heading to class the day after you see a TikTok (bearing your school’s name) with your face next to a bomb. These are two of the many incidents that happened last year to young Muslim girls in Canada, both still in elementary school. Neither are tall enough to ride the rollercoaster, let alone worry about being attacked for their faith or identity. The first had her hijab (Muslim headscarf for females) pulled by a ...

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Major banks have been cutting ties with some Muslim organizations. This is why the process should be more transparent

Published in Toronto Star on August 25, 2022 By Steven Zhou Imagine living your life without banking. You can’t open a checking account and you’re not allowed any credit cards. Life becomes rather complicated. Companies doing direct deposits will look at you with suspicion. So will those who pull up your mostly blank credit history. Now imagine an entire organization — a charity, for instance — that stores millions of donations in the bank. Except, one day, the bank tells them to find a new home. And a month later, their online donations processor quits on ...

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How far will Canada go to support the free press?

Published in CanadaLand on May 13, 2022 By Steven Zhou It has been difficult as a fellow journalist to witness the outrage following the senseless death of veteran Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh. People like to talk about how important press freedoms are, but the truth is that journalists across the world are routinely killed with impunity. It isn’t the first time a Palestinian reporter has been attacked while doing their job in the region. But it’s past time for the guilty party to be held accountable. Abu Akleh, who was also an American ...

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Canada’s two-tier approach to refugees says the quiet part aloud

Published in iPolitics on March 14, 2022 By Steven Zhou More than two million refugees have escaped Ukraine after Russian forces started a full-scale invasion of their country last month. Cities have fallen under bombardment, and the civilian death toll is rising. So it was a relief when Ottawa announced that Ukrainian refugees can come to Canada for two years to escape the violence. The problem is that this generosity doesn’t extend to some of the most marginalized people leaving Ukraine today: those who don’t have Ukrainian citizenship.It’s a puzzling ...

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Failing to challenge extremism in convoy movement emboldens hate

Published in Edmonton Journal on February 17, 2022 By Steven Zhou When a member of the Wolves of Odin intimidated worshippers at the Al Rashid Mosque in Edmonton, with the term “Kaffir” or “Infidel” written on his tuque, many were appalled. Yet many miss how Islamophobic movements have continued to grow right here in this beautiful province — as they have across Canada. There’s been wide coverage of the guns and ammunition seized Monday night among the anti-mandate blockade in Coutts. Thirteen were arrested, nine are out on bail. All were charged ...

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Don’t use post-9/11 vocab in future online regulations

Published in The Hill Times on February 23, 2022 By Steven Zhou One constant and jarring example of someone who was taking part in the Ottawa convoy with a history of hate is Pat King, whose 200,000-plus Facebook followers helped turn the convoy into a national item. King did a live stream in 2019 where he said the election that year “ain’t gonna matter unless you wanna change your national language to Chinese or Mandarin or Hebrew.” This is after he became infamous for a “white genocide” rant. Other convoy supporters loudly hoped for violence: maybe ...

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When will Canada take Islamophobia seriously?

Published in Toronto Star on January 25, 2022 By Steven Zhou It hasn’t been an easy five years for Muslim communities across Canada. Not since a mass murderer rampaged through a Quebec City mosque five years ago, killing six worshippers and injuring many more. Since then, Muslims across the country have engaged in surreal discussions around self-protection, such as how to duck for cover or file out safely should another shooter barge through the front door. These conversations are reminders of how hate has captured Canada. Some may not have noticed, many have ...

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If governments want to combat Islamophobia, they will need to take a hard look in the mirror

Published in The Globe And Mail on July 20, 2021 By Anver Emon & Nadia Hasan On July 22, the federal government will host a national summit on Islamophobia. All levels of government in Canada will be represented, as will Muslim-Canadian community organizations and leaders, so as to chart a path forward to combat racism and discrimination in Canada. This path will not be easy. If done in good faith and with integrity, this project will not only require our governments to work on fighting Islamophobia in the broader public, but will also require them to take a ...

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The London attack demands an all-of-Canada response

Published in Toronto Star on June 11, 2021 By Mustafa Farooq. NCCM CEO It’s easy to see how non-Muslim Canadians watching the horrifying news coming out of London, Ont., this week might believe that this issue doesn’t concern them. After all, the murdered family of four is Muslim and the police, along with practically everyone else, believe this was the reason they were targeted. This is a tragedy, but it’s a Muslim Canadian tragedy. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. When someone directs violence at a person because of what they look ...

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