Report warns about 'institutional Islamophobia' in Canada
A research report has urged the "vital" need to address "institutional Islamophobia" in Canada, citing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)'s aggressive targeting of the country's Muslim community.
The report was published by The Conversation, an Australia-based network of not-for-profit media outlets, on Wednesday.
The investigators came up with their findings after interviewing scores of Muslim community leaders across five major Canadian cities to learn about their treatment by the CSIS.
'Mass surveillance, coercive techniques'
They came up with a whole host of "anti-Muslim tactics" deployed by the CSIS as part of its efforts to maintain the Muslim community under "radicalized surveillance."
"We found that CSIS adopts specific surveillance practices that are informed by Islamophobic tropes," the researchers wrote.
They realized that as part of its tactics aimed at raising "suspicion" about the community, the service has turned mosques "into sites of surveillance."
This features monitoring the mosques' frequenters, especially imams, who "are subject to interrogation and forced to provide intelligence on their congregations," and also placing "operatives" at the places of worship.
The service, meanwhile, deploys "coercive techniques," including pressuring ordinary individuals to turn them into "informants," and making unsolicited visits to people's homes in the middle of the night in order to catch them at times, when they "are unable to access legal counsel or community support."
'Youths, political activism in crosshairs'
The CSIS particularly targets Muslim youths, especially those who are part of Muslim student organizations and attend Muslim gatherings or summer camps, "frequently" interrogating them.
"Muslim university students who we spoke to informed us they have found recording devices in their campus prayer spaces, and had their social media scanned," the report said.
The CSIS also particularly targets Muslims that engage political activism, including criticism of the government and its policies.
"Those politically active and critical of the Canadian state found themselves at higher risk for interrogation. In our study, we found those who criticize state policies — particularly concerning politics in the Middle East — come under increased surveillance."
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