‘We’re tired of it’: Muslim family speaks to Islamophobia in Dufferin County

By Angelica Babiera Orangeville Banner

National Council of Canadian Muslims aims to combat hate and racism across the country

(ORANGE VILLE) Reports of an increase in Islamophobia in Canada aren’t overly surprising to Muslims living in Dufferin County. They experience it first hand.

“We’re constantly experiencing discrimination, and we know why: it’s because Muslims are the minority in Dufferin County,” said Imam Yehya Soliman, leader of the Muslims of Dufferin, who provides Islamic guidance to the community. He and his family have been living in Canada for 20 years and moved to Orangeville in 2016.

Near the mosque in town, he said there’s a neighbour who constantly uses racial slurs and hate speech toward them, including calling them “Muslim scum” and saying he hated them all.

Soliman had to call the police on one occasion because the neighbour was pacing up and down the sidewalk shouting, “I’m going to shoot you all; I’m going to shoot you.”

Recent tragic incidents, such as the June 6 targeted hit and run on the Afzaal family in London and the fatal stabbing of volunteer caretaker Mohamed-Aslim Zafis outside a Toronto mosque last September has drawn the national spotlight onto the increased amount of hate and discrimination Canadian Muslims have been experiencing in recent years.