TORONTO – Muslim religious leaders (Imams) across Canada read a special solidarity statement for Indigenous peoples during their respective weekly congregations at mosques on Friday, July 9th, 2021. This unified call to action, announced by the Canadian human rights organization Justice for All, is an expressed “support and solidarity with grieving Indigenous communities, former residential school students, and families of the lost children. About seventy-five Imams across the country have responded to a joint call by Justice For All Canada & the Canadian Council of Imams for a coordinated effort in extending condolences at this time of immeasurable trauma and grief for Indigenous peoples”.

“Friday’s statement before an attentive congregation of a few hundred Canadian Muslim attendees in every mosque will highlight the collective mourning, compassion and solace on behalf of Canadian Muslim communities towards Indigenous peoples,” said Imam Refaat Mohamed, the President of Canadian Council of Imams.

“The act of religious leadership acknowledging the Indigenous genocide and elevating First Nations, Métis, and Inuits is essential to bringing justice, healing and reconciliation,” stated Taha Ghayyur, the Executive Director of Justice for All Canada. “The discovery of thousands of Indigenous children in unmarked graves, in the name of European imperialism, has left Canadians in pain and longing to advocate for justice and equal rights for the Indigenous peoples.”

This statement reading is also “a critical awareness-building moment for the settler immigrant Muslim communities about the atrocities faced by generations of their Indigenous brothers and sisters in this country. The generational aftermath of colonialism and forced assimilation is a crippling experience shared by many around the world”.

Link to full solidarity statement by Canadian Imams presented on July 9, 2021:https://tinyurl.com/5cxhtdxx

This combined effort is a joint initiative between the Canadian Council of Imams (CCI) and Justice for All Canada (JFAC). The Canadian Council of Imams is a collective leadership of Imams (Ministers of Religion) in Canada (www.CanadianCouncilOfImams.com). Justice for All Canada is a non-profit human rights and anti-genocide organization in Canada (www.JusticeForAllCanada.org).

In the pic, a monthly meeting of Canadian Council of Imams (from http://canadiancouncilofimams.com/)