In a first television interview in French with Les Coulisses du Pouvoir, Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia, admits that her work aimed at building bridges and promoting dialogue between communities has become “more difficult” since October 7. be. .
Ms. Elghawaby, who has faced threats and hate speech herself and hears the concerns of the Jewish and Muslim communities, wonders how to make everyone feel safe.
Given the pain of families here and elsewhere who have lost loved ones, and given the state of shock, this immense work to bridge an ever-widening gap is all the more important.
Ms. Elghawaby said she remained silent for the first 10 days of the conflict as she absorbed the shock and reached out to communities affected by the Hamas attack. This silence was also criticized by parliamentarians.
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Host Daniel Thbeault welcomes Canada’s Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby.
Photo: Radio-Canada
If since the beginning of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic hate crimes increased by almost 500% in two days after October 7, Ms. Elghawaby points the finger at social networks and the messages conveyed there and goes deeper. Departments.
A comment shared by the Liberal MP for Mont-Royal a few weeks ago in an interview with Les Coulisses du politique.
Maybe when they (internet users) look at social media, they don’t know exactly how we can understand what’s going on. There are already stereotypes about both of our communities. There are people who will use these stereotypes to incite more hatred against us.
In addition to the images conveyed by social media that fuel hatred and negative emotions, the ambivalent role of political discourse is also highlighted.
According to Ms Elghawaby, in a context of high social tensions, every person in a position of authority has a responsibility to find the words that have a positive impact on our communities and to show sensitivity.
This political discourse can have a unifying effect, but it can also have a divisive effect.
They want to find the divisions, they can find the people who talk like them, who think like them and they can stay in their own echo chamber. And that is her decision, she adds.
Ms Elghawby warns against black and white statements surrounding the conflict between Israel and Hamas, reminding that the current struggle in the Middle East goes beyond religion and is a struggle for territory.
This interview with Amira Elghawaby will be broadcast on the show The corridors of power at 11 h, on the airwaves of ICI RDI and ICI TV.