May 10, 2023

The Muslim Association of Canada is challenging what experts say is systemic discrimination and Islamophobia

After Muslim charities faced two decades of systemic targeting at the hands of the Canadian Revenue Agency (Cra), including audits and being shut down, one charity has launched a legal defence that has caught the attention of the entire country.

The Muslim Association of Canada (Mac), one of the largest Muslim organisations in the country that boasts more than a dozen chapters, filed a legal challenge against Cra in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in April 2022.

The legal fight, in which Mac is calling for a Cra audit to be halted, is the culmination of years of the Muslim community being subject to unwarranted targeting and discrimination without Mac having the ability or know-how to defend themselves, said Nabil Sultan, Mac’s director of communications and community engagement.

What had led to a chilling effect in the community has now become a story of resilience for Canada’s Muslim community. For years, Cra’s targeting of Muslim charities led to fear amongst Canada’s Muslims, prompting a drop in support and donations to these Muslim organisations, experts and practitioners in the charity sector previously told MEE.

However, Mac’s recently launched legal challenge has now received the support of the Muslim community as well as other civil society groups from outside the faith group.

Read the full article: How one Muslim charity is fighting back against Canada’s targeted audits | Middle East Eye

– Umar A Farooq, Middle East Eye