The Media Accountability Project  

"Stoking Islamophobia in Canada, especially in this volatile moment, is not only irresponsible, it is dangerous. Islamophobia and antisemitism are both forms of hate and must be opposed with equal resolve."

On March 19, 2025, CJPME media analyst Lynn Naji was published in The Hill Times. She responded to an article written by Laura Ryckewaert titled: “Despite challenging first two years, Canada’s special rep on Islamophobia is undaunted.”

Lynn criticized Quebec’s Bill 21 as an “institutionalized form of discrimination” that targets religious minorities by barring government employees from wearing symbols like the hijab.

She also argued that rather than questioning the legitimacy of Elghawaby’s role as Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, Canadians should question why there is such fierce resistance to addressing Islamophobia in a country that claims to uphold human rights.

The letter to the editor is available to read here.

"This is not an isolated case; it reflects a broader systemic pattern in which activists who expose systemic discrimination are targeted with smear campaigns meant to intimidate and silence them. Yet, despite the backlash, Elghawaby refuses to be silenced. She released The Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combating Islamophobia at a time when acknowledging Islamophobia is met with hostility."

"To anyone with a moral compass the situation is crystal clear – there is nothing on this earth that justifies this behaviour. Wiseman tries to invert this reality and in the process has damaged The Hill Times’ credibility. Such hateful rhetoric does not deserve to be published by a reputable paper."

"The National Post uses the term 'Sharia law' without nuance or explanation which perpetuates Islamophobic tropes that paint Muslim beliefs and practices as inherently suspect."

"There is no justification for a “journalist” to write that APR “threatens to destroy all that it touches,” or to blame antisemitism in Canada solely on Muslim immigrants, or to fearmonger about “Islamism,” or misrepresent survey data, or invent fake data, misrepresent police claims, or lie about protest actions, just to name a handful of the violations contained in this article. The Free Press promotes values on its About page, but it appears they were thrown aside in this case. Corrective action is more than necessary to resolve these issues."

"A fair-minded column about free speech on campus should at least note Yousef’s numerous statements that promote violence against Muslims. Wiseman’s column reads as hollow and disingenuous. There are debates to be had about controversial speakers and free speech on campus, but Wiseman is exploiting these legitimate questions to lend legitimacy to professionalized Islamophobia."

"While your article reported that the police could not say if the current hate incident was related to an Islamophobic or anti-Muslim hate incident earlier in the month, later in the article, you mention that the Palestinian solidarity encampment and  University staff were meeting with members of the Muslim community."

"While anti-Muslim hate crimes are often underreported in media, it was a relief to read an article that reported on a recent anti-muslim hate crime at UVic Multifaith Centre amidst the rise of Islamophobia in Canada since October 7."

"As rightly pointed out by Amira Elghawaby, the federal government’s Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, this incident is a blatant attempt to portray Canadian Muslims and communal prayer as threatening and dangerous. Such content is undeniably Islamophobic and contributes to the growing climate of fear and hostility towards the Muslim community in Canada."