Raheel Raza
National Post, Jan. 17, 2023
“In Zine’s view, moderate Muslims like myself and mainstream Jewish organizations like B’nai Brith “share political and ideological mandates that involve the demonization and vilification of Islam and Muslims and often work in concert to foment controversies and spread Islamophobic narratives and conspiracy theories.””
A recently released report by Prof. Jasmin Zine, titled “The Canadian Islamophobia Industry: Mapping Islamophobia’s Ecosystem in the Great White North,” purports to provide insights into “how Islamophobia manifests and is purveyed” in this country. In reality, it paints a skewed picture of anti-Muslim bigotry in Canada, and tars wide swaths of people, including Muslims like myself, as racists.
In her report, Zine details what she calls the “Islamophobia industry,” which is enabled by “self-proclaimed Muslim dissidents, reformers and ex-Muslims,” who “act as instigators and propagators of anti-Islamic narratives as well as validating and authorizing the circulation of these tropes.”
Yet the report is inaccurate in some parts, and relies heavily on slander and name-calling. It’s clear from reading the report that Zine doesn’t understand the distinction between Islam and Islamism, so she has grasped at straws, using quotes and opinions taken out of context. … [To read the full article, click here]