Our Stories
These stories are submissions by Muslims in Canada who responded to our call to action to share their story with us.
Summeiya Khamissa
Nadia Naqvi
Seher Ali (pseudonym)
Naheen Ahmed
Barbara Stasiuk
Mariam Elmi
Natasha Akhtar
Mayada El-Mousawi
Sania Malik
Farhat Rehman
Noor Fadel
CCMW Edmonton Chapter
Fatima
I’d like to say I was born Muslim, but babies don’t have religion. All they know is that they are at the centre of the universe at all times. I suppose I became a Muslim the day my mom told 3-year-old-me that someday “we are all going to Allah’s house”and to this day, I still believe it. I wear a hijab, I order coke at pubs when I’m out with non-Muslim friends or colleagues, and I try to (but usually don’t) wake up early enough to do my Dawn (Fajr) prayers. I hold the door for strangers (or at least I did pre-Covid).
In high school, I wanted to learn about engineering and was the only girl in my class for the last two years. A guy in my class got upset that I got the highest mark on a difficult test. I studied for multiple days, but he came by my desk to yell multiple profanities at me, and then accused me of having an illicit relationship with our male teacher in front of the entire class. Why? Apparently, there is no way a girl can get a higher grade than a guy in a tech class, unless she is flirting with the teacher. Sometimes I would work on my tech projects in other classes, and a teacher asked if I was building a bomb. I pushed my feeling aside things, and moved on. Read more.
Alaa Shaheen
I worked at a library in downtown Guelph. Part of the job was retrieving comic books from the Dragon Comics store in the Quebec Street Mall.
I am visibly Muslim as I wear the hijab. I was carrying a box filled with comics back to the library and it was getting dark. There was a bunch of men and women standing near a church in that street and they began trying to call me over and when I refused nicely they began calling me a “towel-head” and a “terrorist”. When I came near the traffic lights I had to cross the street to the side they were standing on and one of the men began walking towards me quickly still yelling profanities. Luckily a coworker was standing outside and stopped the traffic. I was able to run across the street and into the library. Sadly, this was not the first time this happened. After that I requested that I no longer retrieve the comics.
Surmaya Abdulle
I have faced Islamophobia my whole entire life but today I'll be sharing my first encounter when I was only 5years old. I remember this so vividly and it still hurts me. I was a kindergarten student in this predominantly white school in Quebec.I always use to get looks from students,teachers and staffs but it was nothing too serious.One day, my class and I were sitting for story time when 2 of my classmates started teasing me for wearing hijab and eventually both jumped on me and tried to rip my hijab off(in a very aggressive manner) I was traumatized. After the teacher told them to stop she then proceeded to put ME in time out. And mind you the two white students didn't face any consequences
Rabia Gill
“You can do it, InshAllah!” I repeated this affirmation whenever I wanted to achieve a goal. If I worked hard and was optimistic, everything would work out. I always tried so hard to fit in because I never felt like I belonged. Being bullied, harassed, and ridiculed for being Muslim was difficult enough, but I thought I just needed to be patient and keep going.
The majority of Muslims have been bullied in school, and it is unfortunate how racism is so prevalent in academia. I was the only visible minority in most of my elementary school classes, and after 9/11, the bullying got worse. They called me a pig, for obvious reasons, and made fun of how I wore long sleeves and pants in the summer. Read more.
Saajida Sheri
The day after Donald Trump got elected, a white middle-aged man in a blue pickup truck that was driving behind me switched lanes, pulled up beside me, motioned for me to roll down my window, and when I did yelled 'go home, bitch!'. We were stopped at a light at that point. When the light turned green, he sped forward, cut me off in my lane, and drove off. I am a South Asian hijabi woman.
Shanza Khan
Before 911
Growing up in Canada, any lived experience of hate, violence, racism and Islamophobia is a common place. I faced all this internally within the Muslim community and externally in many forms. Name calling, bullying, exploitation harassment was a common experience in my life. I was isolated and bullied with name calling, “You Ugly Ref! fresh off the boat! Did you arrive in Canada on a Camel? Where is your Camel? Go back to your desert or to wherever you came from, we hate you, get out of here.” I had many incidents of street violence and harassment, cyber bullying and harassment that I could not speak of at all. I had people spit on me. I was threatened and told that they knew where I lived if I said anything. I knew deep down in my heart and spirit the truth, this is my home, and I belong here, and they don’t know the truth. Read more.