The article's speech is stated below ,
Good Afternoon. My name is Furqan Abbassi and I am here representing Soul brothers Pakistan, a non for profit organization. I would like to start off by saying Thank you to the organizers for inviting me to speak on Islamophobia today. The word ‘Islamophobia’ has, unfortunately, become a more prominent and now widely accepted term in today’s modern world. Why does this word even exist? It corrupts the true perception and distorts the identity of a religion that represents peace, equality and compassion towards others. How can we allow such terms to become embedded within mainstream vocabulary? It takes away from any religion’s core belief of peace and respect towards fellow humans of every religion. I would like to highlight the impact on Canadian Muslim Women since the introduction of the term ‘Islamophobia’. As you may already be aware, most Muslim Women identify themselves by covering their head with a scarf. Ever since mainstream media has ‘normalized’ the use of the term ‘Islamophobia’, there has been a significant increase in discrimination, as well as physical attacks, on Muslim Women. Our media needs to do a better job in representing the true ideals of the Islamic religion by replacing the “fearful” representation of the religion. As well as the false religious practice of oppressing women that has been successfully implanted in the public’s popular perception of Islam and its followers. We need to see more news anchors, commercials and social media advertisements that have a muslim family or a muslim women included who will not hesitate wearing a headscarf and face loosing their job. News stories either refer to violations of women's rights or use their image, especially when wearing religious clothing, to illustrate views framing Islam as a problem. In general, Muslims are portrayed negative in Western media, and sometimes hostile. When we look at the workforce market, Muslim woman not only face islamophobia but also gender discrimination and ethnic discrimination. These discriminatory factors are mainly triggered due to the way a muslim women chooses to cover her head and body. Also within this discrimination there are different factors that add to the level of judgment based on the type of religious attire a women might be wearing. A lot of us are familiar with the hijab which is the head covering done with a scarf. This might be more socially acceptable to some Canadians. However if the same woman is wearing the burka which is the head to toe long gown she suddenly is perceived to be dangerous or more oppressed than the women wearing just a head scarf. At the moment Quebec has BIll 21 in place that bans religious symbols in a workplace mainly those are affected are people wearing head coverings from different religions. Muslims are affected heavily by this ban as well. Once again muslim women wearing head coverings were removed from their work places. Now in Quebec but the fear is so close to home as which province will it be next in? I have had the opportunity to be welcomed into Canada and call it my home. I have established a business here and had the opportunity to create jobs for other Canadian and be a part of the economic growth. Along my journey I have employed people from every faith, gender and country and it has saddened me at the same time to hear the struggle of a muslim women finding employment. It is sad that I as a father have had a talk to my kids about Islamophoiba and had to prepare them from a young age to be able to protect themselves. What if one day my daughter chooses to wear a scarf. How do I prepare my daughter who wants to be a doctor, lawyer or a politician like yourself, to be able to overcome additional obstacles, hardships and even discrimination in order to pursue her dreams? That one day she will have to choose between her religion or her career. We came to Canada called it home because of its diversity and freedom of rights. Islam has a very clear message of peace for all humanity. The world stays silent when it comes to defend the freedom of speech for Islam and Muslims. The Muslim world still talks about peace rather than vengeance. As Canadians are considered to be the civilized nations; does it sound civilized even to make fun of someone’s religion? Thank you listening and I look forward to be a part of helping make a change.
Link to the article : - https://www.narcity.com/toronto/canada-newcomers-human-rights-islamophobia-salma-ataullahjan
