Rabat – It doesn’t sound like Canada but nevertheless, Canadian Liberal MP, Iqra Khalid, has received more than 50,000 disturbing and hate-filled emails since tabling a motion in Parliament intended to deal with the presence of Islamophobia in Canada, according to CTV News.
Canada, rightly so, prides itself on its welcoming and inclusive national character. There is, however, in all human societies, an ugly underbelly that occasionally attempts to pollute the fresh air it finds when it surfaces. It’s been a lesson learned for Liberal MP, Iqra Khalid, who has been championing the adoption of Motion 103 in Parliament.
The motion addresses “systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamaphobia, in Canada.” It is the use of the word “Islamaphobia” that critics of the motion, mainly members of the Conservative party, are finding objectionable. They cite possible issues with free speech and that the word is not defined in the motion.
Since tabling Motion 103, Iqra Khalid has been deeply disturbed at the level and volume of hate mail she and her staff have received from a certain segment of the Canadian public that, while in the minority, still deserve to be called out.
Standing in Parliament on Thursday, Khalid read out a small but visceral selection of the emails she has received. Here is a small sampling of the more than 50,000 emails she has received, with a warning that the language will be difficult for some:
“No need to debate her. Simply remind her that she is merely a woman and that she needs to sit the ____ down and shut the ____ up. She has to comply according to Sharia.”
“Kill her and be done with it. She is here to kill us. She is sick and she needs to be deported.”
“Real Canadians will rise up and get rid of the nasty, ____ Muzzie stench in Ottawa. They should all go the ____ back to the hole where you belong. We will burn down your mosques draper head Muslim.”
“Why did Canadians let her in? Ship her back.”
“Why don’t you get out of my country?”
“You’re a disgusting piece of trash and you are definitely not wanted here by the majority of Canadians.”
While Khalid acknowledged that she has also received a great deal of positive feedback and support for the motion, she admitted that she has instructed her staff to lock the office after her for everyone’s safety. “I have asked them not to answer all phone calls so that they don’t have to hear all the insults, threats and unbelievable amount of hate shouted at them and myself.”
While Conservative MP’s are calling for the removal of the word “Islamaphobia” from the motion, New Democrat Party MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault voiced his opinion that the emails themselves speak to the need for the word to remain.
“That seems to bring to light certain aspects that some members [of Parliament] are having difficulty seeing, and are perhaps blinded by or hung up on certain terms, whereas it is evident in her [Khalid] speech that Islamaphobia does exist in Canada.”
According to the same source, 69,000 Canadians signed a petition asking the federal government to do something to deal with the issue of Islamaphobia in Canada, prompting the creation of Khalid’s motion. When asked to water down Motion 103 by a Conservative MP, Khalid responded that she had no intention of dishonouring the 69,000 signatories by cutting out the very heart of the motion.
Thursday evening, federal Heritage Minister Melanie Joly told CBC’s Power and Politics that she had also received derogatory and threatening emails regarding the motion. “Since I’ve presented the governments’ response on this, I have myself been receiving emails and trolls of people that have been presenting such outrageous comments.”
The government’s support for Motion 103 remains absolute.
