PM lauds Canada’s Trudeau for appointing special envoy on Islamophobia

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed the appointment of a special representative by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to deal with Islamophobia.

In a message on Twitter, Imran Khan said that he welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “unequivocal condemnation of Islamophobia and his plan to appoint a special representative to combat this contemporary scourge.”

“His timely call to action resonates with what I have long argued. Let us join hands to put an end to this menace,” the prime minister said.

I welcome Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau‘s unequivocal condemnation of #Islamophobia & his plan to appoint a Special Representative to combat this contemporary scourge. His timely call to action resonates with what I have long argued. Let us join hands to put an end to this menace

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 30, 2022

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously said that Islamophobia is not acceptable at any cost and vowed to make his country safer for Muslims. “Islamophobia is unacceptable. Full stop,” he said in a Twitter message.

He said that they need to put an end to this hate and make their communities safer for Muslim Canadians. “To help with that, we intend to appoint a Special Representative on combatting Islamophobia.”

Islamophobia is unacceptable. Full stop. We need to put an end to this hate and make our communities safer for Muslim Canadians. To help with that, we intend to appoint a Special Representative on combatting Islamophobia. More details here: https://t.co/sEiOYlLRaw

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 29, 2022

Prime Minister Imran Khan has earlier also welcomed the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he said that blasphemy does not count as freedom of expression.

“I welcome President Putin’s statement which reaffirms my message that insulting our Holy Prophet PBUH is not ” freedom of expression,” he said, adding, “We Muslims, especially the Muslim leaders, must spread this message to leaders of the non-Muslim world to counter Islamophobia.”

Islamophobia is unacceptable

On Saturday, the Canadian Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Ahmed Hussen highlighted the federal government’s intention to appoint a special representative on combatting Islamophobia, saying that “this appointment will be part of a renewed Government of Canada Anti-Racism Strategy,” a statement issued by the Government of Canada said.

Last year, the Canadian government had announced its intention to make January 29 a National Day of Remembrance of the Québec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia.

“This year, on the eve of the five-year anniversary of this act of terror, the Government of Canada stands with and supports Muslim communities across Canada and reaffirms its commitment to take action to denounce and tackle Islamophobia and hate-fueled violence,” the statement said.

Islamophobia is a concrete and daily reality for Muslim communities across Canada and around the world, it read, adding that “As we honour the victims, we must remember that we have a responsibility to combat discrimination and continue to build a more inclusive Canada.”

“That is why the federal government held a virtual National Summit on Islamophobia in July 2021. The special representative appointment is one of the recommendations put forward during the Summit and will be an additional step in the government’s ongoing work through Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy to tackle Islamophobia in all its forms.”

It further added that confronting Islamophobia is an important part of the aforementioned strategy as it includes a whole-of-government approach to tackling systemic racism with dedicated knowledge and expertise through the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat, as well as investments to empower communities to combat different forms of racism including Islamophobia.