The Afzaal family:
- Yumna Afzaal, daughter, aged 15 – killed
- Madiha Salman, mother, aged 44 – killed
- Salman Afzaal, father, aged 46 – killed
- Talat Afzaal, grandmother, aged 74 – killed
- Fayez Afzaal, son, aged 9 – seriously injured
Sunday, June 6, in London, Ontario saw a sickening, mind-numbing event – the premeditated, cold-blooded killing of a Muslim family taking an evening stroll. In the wake of this, Muslims across the country may well feel terrorized. If simply going out for a walk exposes them to a murderous assault, how can any feel truly safe?
Socialist Alternative Canada condemns this murder and all anti-Muslim actions and extends its sympathy to the Afzaal family.
This horrific killing is part of an unmistakable, steady rise in the expression of open anti-Muslim sentiment, dating back years but accelerated by the events of 9/11 even if carried out by a small minority. And it’s not just Muslims who have suffered – Blacks, Jews, Sikhs, Indigenous, Chinese, South and East Asians and other visible minorities have all felt the brunt in different ways. Politicians will always show their shock and sympathy after these events – “our thoughts and prayers are with you” is the stock phrase but they are reluctant to acknowledge how the systemic structures of society and government inactions have fuelled Islamophobia over the years. Of course, it is not confined to Canada. Far-right movements in Europe and across the world (remember New Zealand 2019 when 51 were killed in 2 mosques by a lone, far-right individual) and the election of Donald Trump were ingredients that added to the mix in Canada and accelerated the trend.
Governments have been debating what to do about deadly violence against Muslims since at least 2017, when six worshippers were gunned down at a mosque in Québec City. That was followed by a sharp increase in attacks on Muslims, including the killing of a man outside a mosque in Toronto last September. The man charged in that incident reportedly followed a neo-Nazi group online. Although the political affiliations of the man arrested for the London attack still have not been revealed, the police do believe it was “hate-motivated.”
The COVID-19 pandemic came with many challenges aside from the virus itself. In many situations it has magnified societal ills. This is especially apparent in the rise of Islamophobia online and in the media, and by harassment and physical violence against Muslims. In the midst of mass lockdown procedures, economic collapse and overall uncertainty, hateful people, especially those associated with the far-right, have targeted and blamed Muslims and Chinese for the spread of COVID-19.
The leaders of all four political parties in Ontario were united in expressing their horror against this latest hate. In 2017, in the wake of the Québec City shooting, that wasn’t the case. The House of Commons passed a motion condemning Islamophobia but, shamefully, most Conservatives at the time, including current leader Erin O’Toole, opposed it.
Susan Delacourt in the Toronto Star, however, points out Justin Trudeau has made his clearest statement yet on what he will and will not do to stand up against Islamophobia in Canada. Trudeau says he will call out anti-Muslim crime, even calling it “terrorism.” Despite that “he will not call out Québec for the secularism law, Bill 21, that has made Muslims feel unwelcome in that province. This Bill forces Muslims to relinquish any religious clothing if they want to work in public professions.
“‘No,’ Trudeau said bluntly on Tuesday when asked whether Bill 21 bred intolerance of Muslims. He talked of how Quebec had a right to make its own laws, how people in Quebec might be having ‘conversations’ and ‘reflecting’ on the law in days ahead, and said his government would be ‘watching’ and ‘following.’” In other words, he won’t be doing anything.
Islamophobia, like other forms of racism, is rooted in the economic and political needs of capitalism. It has served to divide and rule by misdirecting the anger and insecurities found in some working-class communities. When it comes to fighting Islamophobia and racism, we need to look beyond education and writing to your MP. The lesson from the protests that developed after the police murder of George Floyd was that a mass multi-racial movement on the streets is the main way to force concessions from governments. But, as socialists, if we are going to deal with root causes, we have to set our sights higher – get that movement to embrace demands around the issues of housing, minimum wage, job creation, the climate crisis and for a socialist transformation of society.
