Manifestations of Anti-Muslim racism within Canadian Case Law


Abeer Mirza, University of Toronto

An overview of relevant case law across Canada suggests there is a dearth of studies that critically examine how Muslims are impacted by case law due to barriers to justice. Since tribunals and courts including the supreme court of Canada approach Muslim claimants as abstract, isolated individuals whose narratives are unconnected to the narratives of their larger communities, there exists a dire need for social context analysis for human rights adjudication. This presentation stems from assertions in literature on the experiences of systemic islamophobia faced by Muslim children and youth (specifically Muslim boys and young men) in educational institutions and other federal agencies such as children’s aid society, and how the law can sometimes become a vehicle for the implementation of anti-Muslim racism. The presentation seeks to contribute to this gap through an examination of case law and legal narratives, focusing on selected cases of Muslim individuals who turned to the law for remedy, in order to direct attention towards the urgent need for research and policy initiatives regarding barriers facing Muslim communities who seek justice in Canada. This examination of case law will demonstrate the relationship between justice and law’s impartiality on whether the law treats individuals equally regardless of social markers. Embedded in a qualitative research design, this presentation will discuss findings from Canadian case law to demonstrate how the law has been a tool for the eradication or implementation of anti-Muslim racism, stressing upon the need for institutional trustworthiness scholarship into access to justice analysis within Canadian Muslim communities.

This paper will be presented at the following session: