Canadians have the right to be free to practise their faith and culture without fear. That’s why the Government of Canada helps communities implement measures to protect against hate-motivated crimes through the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP).

The Government of Canada is constantly working to keep Canadian families and communities safe from terrorism and violent extremism. Engaging with communities is part of the Government’s approach to preventing radicalization to violence before tragedies occur. To assist these efforts, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, announced the launch of a National Expert Committee on Countering Radicalization to Violence on February 7, 2019.

Currently, Dr. Scott Flower from the University of Melbourne in Australia is looking for Canadian converts to Islam to particpate in his study of the Canadian Muslim Convert experience. His Canadian-based research collaborator Megan Ryder Burbidge contacted Muslim Link so we could promote the study within our networks. We wanted to know more about the study's objectives and funding first. Here is what we learned.

On November 8th, I was invited to speak at the Muslim Coordinating Council's "Turning the Tides: A Panel Discussion on Young Muslim Radicalization and Crime Prevention".

I was particularly pleased that a Muslim youth, Afnan Khan, was given the lead on organizing the panel and moderating the discussion. Muslim organizations need to give more space to younger Muslims to organize and lead sessions that have to do with issues youth are facing.