Amira Elghawaby

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Amira Elghawaby
Elghawaby in 2023
1st Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 20, 2023
Personal details
Alma materCarleton University

Amira Elghawaby is a Canadian journalist, communications professional, and human rights activist. She was appointed as Canada's first Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia in January 2023.

Early life and education

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Elghawaby was born to Egyptian parents; her father was an engineer.[1]

She emigrated to Canada at the age of two months with her mother, and also spent four of her early years in Bandung, Indonesia.[1] She grew up in the East End of Ottawa.[2]

Elghawaby has a degree in journalism and law from Carleton University.[3][4]

Career

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Elghawaby is a human rights activist and a journalist.[3] She is employed as a communications lead by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation,[3] and is a freelance journalist who contributes columns to The Toronto Star.[3] She previously worked at CBC News, the Canadian labour movement,[3] and as a human rights co-ordinator[5] for the National Council of Canadian Muslims.[6][7] She was one of the founding board members of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network[8] and is a member of Canada's National Security Transparency Advisory Group.[9]

On January 26, 2023,[8] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Elghawaby as Canada's first special representative on combatting Islamophobia, for a four-year term.[3] Her office has a budget of $5.6 million to cover the first five years of activities.[3]

The National Council of Canadian Muslims described her appointment as a "historic moment for Muslims in Canada".[8] Days after her appointment Quebec Premier François Legault called for her resignation,[10] after La Presse reported that Elghawaby had written that Quebeckers seem "influenced by anti-Muslim sentiment," in a 2019 column in the Ottawa Citizen.[11] The same La Presse article also reported that in May 2021 Elghawaby wrote "I'm going to puke" on Twitter in reaction to an opinion editorial by Joseph Heath, a philosophy teacher of the University of Toronto, who argued that French Canadians were the largest group in Canada to have suffered from British colonialism.[11]

Trudeau said he expected her comments to be clarified,[12][13] but later reaffirmed that he stands by her appointment.[14] On February 1, 2023, Amira Elghawaby apologized for her comments about how her words in the past have hurt the people of Quebec. She expressed that has been listening to Quebecers.[15]

A parliamentary motion in the National Assembly of Quebec denouncing her appointment was supported by the Coalition Avenir Québec, Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois.[16]

On February 3, 2023, a letter in support of her appointment was published by a group of 30 prominent Québécois, including human rights lawyer Julius Grey, Quebec City Mosque co-founder Boufeldja Benabdallah, and Charles Taylor, professor emeritus at McGill University. The letter acknowledged the prior concern, but advocated for Elghawaby to be allowed to perform her new role.[17][18] On February 5, a second letter with 200 signatories including Université de Montréal professor Nadia El-Mabrouk, and activist Ensaf Haidar, called for Elghawaby's resignation and the abolition of her office, signatories refused " to be associated to a Muslim community represented by people who promote a fundamentalist vision of Islam".[19] On February 14, speaking at the Senate of Canada former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi raised concerns about Islamophobia and urged parliamentarians to stand up for Elghawaby.[20] Rania Lawendy CEO of Action for Humanity Canada, said that the letters show "the Canadian political landscape is not a safe place for a visible Muslim woman, and this incident is a perfect example of how discrimination continues to be tolerated by our government leaders."[21]

On the backdrop of the Oct 7 Israel-Hamas conflict, on February 13, 2024, pro-Palestine demonstrators staged a protest at Mount Sinai Hospital located at downtown Toronto, a Jewish undertaking,[22] raising Palestinian flags and calls of intifada interfering with the operations of the hospital which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced it as reprehensible show of antisemitism,[23] Elghawaby came in support of demonstrators by posting "also troubling and wrong is the rush to label protesters as anti-Semitic and/or terrorist sympathisers." on the platform X.[24] Following her comments about the protest, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) called for Elghawaby's resignation or removal from her position.[24]

Personal life

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Elghawaby lives in Ottawa.[25] She is married with three children.[1] She is Muslim.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Muslim In Canada - Amira Elghawaby". Muslim In Canada. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. ^ Elghawaby, Amira [@AmiraElghawaby] (2023-02-20). "What an honour it is to officially begin my role as Canada's Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia here in the nation's capital, a short car ride from where I grew up in Ottawa's East end. 1/5 https://t.co/y9EL40kPC9" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-02-23 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Zimonjic, Peter (26 Jan 2023). "Trudeau announces Amira Elghawaby as Canada's first representative to combat Islamophobia". CBC. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Amira Elghawaby". Prime Minister of Canada. 2023-01-25. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  5. ^ Rakobowchuk, Peter (2015-03-13). "Woman in hijab controversy rejects $52,000 crowdfunding cash". CTV News. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  6. ^ "The People Do Good Stuff Issue: Amira Elghawaby". This Magazine. 2016-01-13. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  7. ^ "Ottawa police alert Muslim women after reports of verbal abuse". CBC. 16 Oct 2016. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Canada appoints first representative to fight Islamophobia". www.aljazeera.com. 26 Jan 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  9. ^ Patel, Raisa (2023-01-26). "Canada names first special representative to combat Islamophobia". thestar.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  10. ^ "CAQ government wants federal anti-Islamophobia adviser removed over Bill 21 comments". montrealgazette. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  11. ^ a b "200 personnes réclament l'abolition du poste d'Amira Elghawaby". Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  12. ^ Bailey, Ian (2023-01-27). "Politics Briefing: Trudeau wants Amira Elghawaby to clarify remarks about Quebeckers". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  13. ^ "Trudeau nomme une militante qui a dépeint les Québécois comme " antimusulmans "". La Presse (in French). 2023-01-26. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  14. ^ Watts, Rachel (Jan 30, 2023). "Justin Trudeau stands by appointee Amira Elghawaby, says she will continue fight against Islamophobia". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  15. ^ Zimonjic, Peter (Feb 1, 2023). "Anti-Islamophobia representative Amira Elghawaby apologizes for past comments about Quebecers". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved Feb 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Quebec MNAs call for dismissal of anti-Islamophobia advisor". Montreal. 2023-01-31. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  17. ^ Nerestant, Antoni (Feb 3, 2023). "Quebec lawyers, activists throw support behind Amira Elghawaby as pressure for resignation mounts". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved Feb 16, 2023.
  18. ^ "Prominent Quebecers plead for federal anti-Islamophobia rep to be given a chance". CTV News. 2023-02-03. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16.
  19. ^ "Plus de 200 personnes exigent le départ d'Amira Elghawaby et l'abolition de son poste". Archived from the original on 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  20. ^ Zapata, Karina (Feb 14, 2023). "Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi urges politicians to stand up for Amira Elghawaby". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved Feb 16, 2023.
  21. ^ Lawendy, Rania (Feb 8, 2023). "Amira Elghawaby 'is not embattled'". National Post. Retrieved Feb 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "Toronto police to investigate pro-Palestinian march outside Mount Sinai Hospital". The Globe and Mail. 2024-02-13. Archived from the original on 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  23. ^ "Protest outside Mount Sinai Hospital 'reprehensible' show of antisemitism: Trudeau". CityNews Toronto. 2024-02-13. Archived from the original on 2024-06-18. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  24. ^ a b "As Lobbyists Demand That Amira Elghawaby Resign, a Prominent Source Tells Sada Online: "Our Community's Going to Take a Clear, Public Stance if the Government Yields to Pressure"". www.sadaonline.ca. Archived from the original on 2024-06-18. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  25. ^ Lau, Rachel (20 Dec 2017). "'He's a Canadian hero': Muslim community raises money for paralyzed mosque shooting victim | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-27.


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