Islamic organization based in Canada and the United States
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) is a non-profit Canadian Muslim civil liberties and human rights advocacy organization.[1] The organization was established in 2000 to focus on combatting Islamophobia, hate and racism through legal action, public advocacy, education, and media representation. NCCM's mission is "to protect human rights & civil liberties and dismantle Islamophobia through advocacy."[2]
NCCM takes on cases of hate and discrimination such as Islamophobic assaults,[3][4][5] vandalism,[6] harassment,[7] employment discrimination,[8] and racial profiling.[9] NCCM also takes on major cases to challenge discriminatory laws and policies such as Quebec's Bill 21,[10] the No Fly List,[11] the Safe Third Country Act, and Bill 62.[12] NCCM frequently collaborates with partners such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to combat encroachments on civil liberties.[13] NCCM lawyers have appeared in multiple courts including human rights tribunals and the Supreme Court of Canada.[14]
Public advocacy
NCCM engages in lobbying all levels of government to strengthen or enact laws and policies that address Islamophobia in all its forms.[15] After the London Terror Attack in Ontario in 2021 when 4 members of a Muslim family perished in an Islamophobic attack, NCCM submitted 61 recommendations directed at municipal, provincial and federal governments to tackle Islamophobia in their jurisdictions.[16][17] NCCM has been named as a top lobbying organization in Canada by The Hill Times on multiple occasions.[18][19][20][21]
NCCM has been active on several public policy files including systemic Islamophobia in national security agencies,[22] the CRA,[23][24] policing,[25] and education.[26] NCCM also advocates on Canadian foreign policy in relation to Islamophobia, including on Canadian positions on multiple issues related to Palestine,[27] Afghanistan,[28] the treatment of Uyghurs in China[29] and the treatment of Muslims and other minorities in India.[30]
Education
NCCM engages in anti-Islamophobia educational work with public schools,[31] educators,[32] corporations,[33] unions[34] and others. In addition, NCCM provides advocacy services to students who face Islamophobic discrimination or hate at school.[35][36]
NCCM has been involved in advocating for anti-Islamophobia strategies at multiple school boards, with the first being passed in the Peel District School Board in Ontario[37] as well as a province-wide strategy in British Columbia.[38]
Media representation
NCCM frequently comments in the media on issues related to Islamophobia and racism, and the organization publishes op-eds in Canadian newspapers on various policy issues.[39][40][41][42][43]
Controversy
NCCM was formerly known as the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) prior to 2013 and was independent of the U.S. organization of a similar name, CAIR.[44] In 2014, the NCCM sued former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his spokesman Jason MacDonald for defamation[45] for alleging that the organization had connections with a terrorist organization because of similar accusations directed at CAIR; however, these accusations were settled in court when Harper's spokesperson admitted that his statements regarding NCCM were wrong.[46] The Government of Canada also issued a statement disavowing MacDonald's inaccurate statement about NCCM.[46]
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