Tour to Empower Muslims in Face of Islamophobia Kicks Off

Countering fear and intolerance towards Muslims in Canada could be as easy as lacing up a pair of bowling shoes, says the head of the Ottawa-based National Council of Canadian Muslims.

The non-partisan and non-profit group works to safeguard the rights of Canadian Muslims and counter Islamophobia in the country through civic engagement.

Part of the group's efforts include the NCCM Empowerment Tour, which kicked off in Calgary last Sunday and stops off in four more cities in coming months.

The tour offers a leadership boot camp for Muslims on how to handle media interviews and speak to politicians to get whatever message is across in an effective way.

Another component is learning how to successfully conduct outreach, which executive director Ihsaan Gardee said studies show is key to countering Islamophobia.

"The more interaction people have with Muslims, the more positively they tend to view them and their faith," Gardee said. "You cease to be a two-dimensional cardboard cutout that exists in the six-second media soundbite world, and you become suddenly a human being with thoughts, fears, feelings, hopes, dreams."

To achieve that, non-Muslim Canadians need to meet and get to know Muslims in their communities, he said.

Canada has seen a spike in anti-Muslim crimes over the last couple of months, particularly since the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks thought to be perpetrated by ISIS sympathizers in Paris that killed 130 people.

Recently a mosque was set on fire in Peterborough and two women, one wearing a hijab and another wearing a scarf mistaken for a hijab were attacked in Toronto by assailants spouting anti-Muslim slurs.

Coming together in grassroots ways

To overcome the attacks and address prejudice at its root, Gardee said we need to find creative ways for Muslims and non-Muslims to interact more in a grassroots way.

Laughingly, Gardee proposed one idea: a "go bowling with a Muslim" event, noting such twists are needed for effective outreach.

"It's putting a light-hearted spin on things, but something like that will help to garner media attention where other attempts may not," Gardee said. "Unfortunately if there's not controversy or something to [an idea], it has to have some other unique angle or perspective for the media to take notice."

Another approach is to hold open-mosque days where anyone can go to their local mosque, meet people, take a tour and ask questions.

Tour stops in four of the five cities also include a fundraiser with keynote speaker and comedian Dean Obeidallah, who floats other ways to bring people together.

"He suggested doing things that are out of the box, that get people talking to realize that Muslims and Islam are not as scary as they're made out to be," Gardee said.

Gardee said while the recent attacks in Paris have once again thrown Muslim communities in the spotlight, the tour has been in the works since last year.