Anti-Racism Muslim Collaborative Report Release: Anti-Black Racism in Muslim Spaces in Edmonton

Written by John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights VP

Published in News

A team of Muslim community members from various sectors and backgrounds came together in the Fall of 2020 with the desire to address the prevalence of ongoing racist attitudes within Muslim communities, spaces, and institutions in the Edmonton area.

An attempt in the Summer of 2020 by Al Rashid Mosque to address issues embedded in racial injustice showed the lack of community preparedness and understanding of Black issues and how that permeates a multitude of Muslim institutions.

As a result, [the Anti-Racism Muslim Collaborative (AMC)] came together at the end of that year and has met regularly since then intending to contribute to the fostering of inclusive Muslim spaces in Edmonton by addressing anti-racism, especially anti-Black racism, through community empowerment, advocacy, and education. As a diverse group, we have put a lot of energy, education, and intention into building collective awareness; establishing clear parameters; and, learning and growing with one another as we decide on ways and objectives of better engaging with the issue at hand. The building of the strategy has been facilitated by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights and supported by the Edmonton Community Foundation.

The objective of the dialogue was twofold; to gain a better understanding of how racism manifests in Muslim spaces, and to collectively identify and design ways to move specific anti-racism actions forward.

The intention of this report is to contribute to the education and transformation of those Muslim spaces in the City of Edmonton.

Anti-Black racism is rampant in most spaces in our city. However, as affirmed by [one participant] “when the spaces affected are the ones we go to recharge our faith and fulfill our spiritual commitments, it causes Black Muslims and other affected groups even deeper layers of hurt and exhaustion than other spaces. It is a space we come to be vulnerable, to seek guidance, and to strengthen our Islamic intentions”.

Some of the issues and the solutions presented by community members include:

Language

Our Arab members’ entitlement to language, and by extension religion and religious organizations, results in a superiority ideology that controls Muslim spaces in Edmonton. Proposed Solution: Create proximity and get to know one another. This will serve to create room for non-Arabic- speaking Muslims to participate in leadership.

No Safety or Remediation Process

In our organizations, there are no neutral spaces that center on Islam to address issues of racism, rather they center on cultural allegiances. Therefore, our Muslim community lacks cohesion and a sense of community. There is also no clear process of remediation for people who have experienced racism and discrimination. Proposed Solution: Have neutral spaces outside of mosques, while also decolonizing the existing spaces we have-including those within mosques.

No Representation

The boards and leadership teams of Muslim organizations are not representative of the larger Islamic community. Proposed Solution: There should be a focus on equity with an understanding that the Black Muslim’s experiences, including womens’, are intersectional and unique, thus needs to be represented and leveraged in all Muslim spaces. In addition, we should collectively take care of women and respect their spaces.

The Anti-Racism Muslim Collaborative (AMC) exists to contribute to the fostering of inclusive and united Muslim spaces in Edmonton by addressing anti-racism through community empowerment, advocacy and education.

CBC has published an article about the report as well (Read here).

To read the full report, click here.

If you have any questions, comments, or wish to get involved with AMC please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.