COMMUNITY HATE CRIME PREVENTION 2008
Bridging the Gap with the Muslim Community Conference
In March of 2008 MIAG embarked upon a unique community hate crimes project, with the generous support of the Ministry of the Attorney General, titled, ‘Bridging the Gap with the Muslim Community’. This initiative was orchestrated to serve the needs of our diverse communities in the Peel region by bridging the gaps of understanding that have been perpetrated through negative media exposure, and a fundamental lack of awareness of Muslims. The project’s goal is to educate communities and service providers about Canadian Muslims, facilitate hate crime-prevention awareness activities and produce educational literature. All these goals present sustainable outcomes and long-term impacts.
The project’s informational structure takes the form of 3 awareness-building workshops –which have been completed with much success and jubilation - and a regional conference hosting 200 service providers and 200 community members. It includes as well the development of a resource booklet that tackles the same issue.
Almost 400 people attended the “Bridging the Gap with the Muslim Community’ conference that was organized by MIAG on August 27, 2008. It was held at ISNA Canada from 9:30 am – 4:00 pm. It involved members of the diverse communities and service providers in Peel.
The conference strictly focused on hate crimes and human rights from the perspective of various established speakers working in related fields (i.e. law enforcement, judicial system, human rights commission, media, religious leaders, educators and health care providers). Participants were engaged with the content of the presentations and pleased with the selection of speakers. Almost all of the speakers shared their contact information with the participants for any further queries they had.
Respondents provided a vast array of positive feedback: a majority commented on the presentations enhancing their knowledge and clarified misunderstandings of what constituted as a hate crime. They remarked on how they learned about the effects of hate crimes upon individuals and communities, and also the manner in which they should identify and effectively report incidents. Community members stated that they were clarified on what their rights were, and the reporting process, roles and responsibilities of the police.
Almost all of the respondents agreed that the conference met their expectations; some even went so far as stating that it exceeded their expectations and was very informative and accessible. One respondent commented about the conference, “It was a very enriching experience; I thoroughly enjoyed listening to all the speakers.” Another stated, “As is a tradition of MIAG in inviting knowledgeable and well spoken speakers once more this conference has exceeded my expectations, and has increased my knowledge and respect for the Muslim community”.
‘Bridging the Gap with the Muslim Community’ Resource Booklet:
The purpose of this booklet is to share with readers the core issues required to promote understanding, effective reporting techniques, and clarify the process of working on hate motivated crimes and incidents targeting members of the Canadian Muslim Community. We hope you will join us on the task of combating community hate crime by availing this resource booklet, engaging yourself in community activities and taking initiative to identify and report if the needs arises.
Sahar Rizvi, Project Coordinator
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