OCASI latest articles

(English version)

Toronto/ Janvier 23, 2017 – Une coalition d’organisations provinciales et pancanadiennes s’est formée pour lancer une campagne de sensibilisation qui encourage les Ontariennes et Ontariens à s’opposer à l’islamophobie et au racisme.

As I walked the cold Toronto streets on Saturday February 4, in solidarity with Muslim Canadians and with immigrants and refugees from the seven Muslim majority countries banned by Executive Order by the US President, I couldn’t help but reflect how different this Black Lives Matter Toronto led solidarity march was from the women’s march held in January on these same cold streets. There was the difference in numbers of course – sixty thousand at the women’s march versus a few thousand at the Muslim solidarity march, but even more important was the make-up of the crowd. At Saturday’s march the crowd was primarily young and of colour. Muslim women in hijab and bare headed, Black and Indigenous people, college and university students, young and not so young workers, activists, Faith leaders and representatives from the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Yoruba, Akan, Voodun traditions,  Agnostics and Atheists all chanting and marching in solidarity, saying with one voice “not in my name’.