They came from London, Kitchener, Brampton, Mississauga, Scarborough, Thorncliffe, York, Toronto, Hamilton, Ajax and many other cities across the GTA. They came in 15 buses, hundreds of cars and on public transportation. Over 7,000 Canadian Muslims and their friends from the Jewish, Christian, Sikh and Hindu communities stood in solidarity in a historic and exemplary protest against Islamophobia and hate speech. The largest protest of its kind in the western world, the protest was exemplary in terms of its discipline, organization, size, and diversity. The protest was completely peaceful with the speakers and participants stating that this is our city and country, cooperating fully with law enforcement and cleaning the area before leaving.
The core message of the rally was; “Freedom of speech is not a license for spreading hate, bigotry and Islamophobia”. Children were holding signs of “I love Jesus, because I am a Muslim”, “I love Moses, because I am a Muslim”, “I love Muhammad” and men and women were holding signs stating “Shame on USA for its Islamophobic policies”, “We denounce all forms of hate”, “We denounce insults directed against Prophet Abraham, Jesus, Moses and Muhammad (May Peace Be On To All of Them).
The rally was organized by Canadians Against Blasphemy (c.ag.blasphemy@gmail.com), a broad coalition of community and religious organizations that believe that freedom of speech is not a license for hate speech. Speakers belonging to a large cross section of the society, representing various organizations stated their unequivocal condemnation of the movie. They also strongly condemned violence and stated that all theological and political discourse should occur in a civil manner. They expressed solidarity with the tens of millions of people that have demonstrated peacefully around the world on this issue. A lady from the First Nations, and Canadians of Lebanese, Yemeni and Iraqi origins recited beautiful poems about Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and about his mission to spread love, justice and human rights in the society.
The speakers also denounced attempts by anti-Islamic forces and their agents amongst Muslims to divide Muslims along sectarian, tribal and racial lines. The participants raised slogans about Muslim unity and pledged not to fall in to the trap of sectarian, linguistic or racial divides. The most beautiful moment of the rally was 7,000 Muslims holding hands together and reciting Dua-e-Wahadat and pledging their love for Prophet Mohammad (SAW) and their abhorrence for Islamophobia and hate speech in a united, organized and disciplined manner.
The Muslims welcomed participants from the Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Christian communities with loud cheers and thanked them for their principled stance against hate speech. They also pledged to stand in solidarity with other faiths if any attempts were made to desecrate their religious symbols.
Speaking to the media, the organizers of the rally praised the cordial relationships that exist between various faiths in Canada and denounced any efforts by the racist elements within the government and media to spoil the climate of mutual respect. They noted that Canada has traditionally enjoyed a great reputation of fairness and neutrality in the world and in Muslim countries but due to the prejudicial policies and Islamophobic statements by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, we are at risk of losing the goodwill earned through decades of balanced foreign policy.
The organizers noted that if this movie was against Jews or blacks, politicians will be denouncing it as Anti-Semitic or racist and the organizers of this rally will also be denouncing it strongly. However, unfortunately due to the double standards about the freedom of speech, elected officials in Canada have not spoken against Islamophobia and in certain cases have encouraged it for short-term political gains. The organizers chose the US consulate as they hold the American government responsible for creating a climate of Islamophobia e.g. by American soldiers desecrating Quran, American military teaching a course advocating bombing of Mecca, American elected officials giving broad statements against Muslims and Islam and the right wing American media openly demonizing Muslims on a daily basis. They demanded an immediate removal of the video and demanded prosecution of the fraudster-turned-filmmaker for incitement of violence and hatred and for breaking the terms of his parole which prohibit him from using the computer and the internet.
The rally in Toronto was the largest rally ever organized in the western world against hate speech and Islamophobia and was an indication that the Muslim population and all conscientious citizens of Canada