Grounded in community networks and academic expertise, the Islamophobia Research Hub at York University's York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) is an institutional home for conducting and mobilizing research, deepening our knowledge of Islamophobia, and developing innovative solutions that tackle some of the most complex barriers to robust equity and inclusion of Muslims in Canada and globally.
Our mission is to find real-world solutions to evolving forms of Islamophobia by mobilizing community-engaged research and innovation.
Background
In recent years, Canada has become home to the most fatalities from Islamophobic attacks out of all G7 countries. Year over year, this country has seen a disturbing upward trend in hate crimes against Muslims, with these crimes not only increasing in number, but in intensity as well. From fatal violence, to bomb threats against mosques, to harassment in public spaces, this trend has deeply impacted Muslims and their sense of safety and belonging across this country.
While these trends go against the grain of Canada’s stated multicultural values, they are not surprising given the normalization of racism and Islamophobia in the post-9/11 social, political, and cultural fabric of this country, coupled with the rise of violent Islamophobic ideologies globally. Moreover, Canada did not become the top country in the G7 for Islamophobic fatalities in a vacuum. The transnational circulation of Islamophobic discourse and tactics is inextricable from how Islamophobia manifests in Canada today.
Grounded in community networks and academic expertise, the Islamophobia Research Hub at York University is an institutional home for building and mobilizing intersectional and interdisciplinary research, deepening our knowledge of Islamophobia, and developing innovative solutions that tackle some of the most complex barriers to robust equity and inclusion of Muslims in Canada and globally.