Content warning: This article mentions incidents of Islamophobia.

On September 12, U of T’s Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) held a press conference in front of Simcoe Hall, calling on the university to address Islamophobia on campus.

This came a few days after UofT Occupy for Palestine (O4P) — the student group that organized the 63-day encampment at King’s College Circle — held a back-to-school rally on September 6. 

At the rally, students claimed that counter-protesters were harassing U of T community members with hateful and Islamophobic speech. 

Press conference

MSA President Mohamad Yassin led the conference, with around 10 students standing behind him in solidarity. 

Yassin claimed that during O4P’s back-to-school rally, counter-protesters “spew[ed] extremely racist and blasphemous Islamophobic remarks” at students. 

According to the National Council of Canadian Muslims, among the counter-protesters present at the rally were members of the Jewish Defense League — a recognized right-wing, terrorist group in the US. 

The MSA and O4P have since called on U of T to ban the presence of hate groups on campus. Yassin told The Varsity that they have yet to receive a response from the administration about these concerns. 

“When terrorist-associated groups roam freely on our campus shouting hateful and Islamophobic remarks at our students, the administration did nothing,” Yassin said during the conference. “President [Meric] Gertler, Vice-Provost [Students] Sandy Welsh, where are your statements affirming student safety now?”

Yassin noted that “this is only one of many incidents and is the culmination of repeated failures on the administration’s part to address Islamophobia on campus.”

On September 20, in a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote that the university “continues to be responsive to the unique needs and concerns of our community and has posted resources and supports for Palestinian, Arab[,] and Muslim community members.” 

“Members of the U of T community and visitors to our campuses who have safety concerns should contact the relevant university Campus Safety service, or call 911 in an emergency.”

Following the press conference, Yassin explained to The Varsity that members of the MSA had been meeting with the administration since November to discuss Islamophobia on campus and how the university can support students. 

When asked about these meetings, a university spokesperson did not comment. 

Yassin mentioned that students have recently been talking to the university about establishing an anti-Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian working group, but  said that with the administration, there are “a lot of delays and nothing ever actually gets done.”

The U of T spokesperson wrote, “The university will continue to move forward with the development of a working group to address the experiences of Islamophobia, anti-Arab[,] and anti-Palestinian discrimination.” 

The statement also noted that the university created and filled a new position within its Institutional Equity Office, which is focused on “the intersections of faith and race-based discriminations.” 

Student demands

On September 13, the MSA and Humans of the Ummah — a U of T community organization within the MSA — released a joint statement on Instagram calling on U of T “to take responsibility and prevent hate groups” from spreading hateful speech. 

“There is no room for such flagrant Islamophobia and racism on our university campus,” the statement read. “U of T, like every other university, has an obligation to protect its student body from targeted hate.”

The statement further outlined three demands for university administration: issue an apology to students for “allowing hate groups,” ban hate groups from campus, and establish an anti-Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian racism working group. 

Four days later, on September 17, O4P encouraged students in an Instagram post to contact the university to pressure it to “uphold freedom of expression and protect the safety of its students.”

O4P called on students to demand that the university ban terrorist groups, militia groups, and the Toronto Police Services from campus. They also called on the administration to rescind the “new regressive protest policy.” 

A U of T spokesperson noted to The Varsity that the university has not made any changes to its protest and free speech policies for the fall term. 

They explained that, “Members of the public are generally allowed in unrestricted areas of our campuses as long as they abide by the law and university policies. 

“Campus Safety officers connect proactively with organizers of protests and counter-protests on our campuses to share information and ensure alignment on safety,” the spokesperson wrote. “Members of the U of T community and visitors to our campuses who have safety concerns should contact the relevant university Campus Safety service, or call 911 in an emergency.”

If you or someone you know has experienced harassment or discrimination based on race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship and/or creed at U of T, report the incident to the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity office: https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/help/. 

You can report incidents of anti-Muslim racism through the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ Hate Crime Reporting form at https://www.nccm.ca/programs/incident-report-form/.

If you or someone you know has experienced Islamophobia, or anti-Muslim racism, or is in distress, you can contact:

If you or someone you know is in distress, you can call: 

  • Canada Suicide Prevention Service phone available 24/7 at 1-833-456-4566 
  • Good 2 Talk Student Helpline at 1-866-925-5454 
  • Connex Ontario Mental Health Helpline at 1-866-531-2600 
  • Gerstein Centre Crisis Line at 416-929-5200 
  • U of T Health & Wellness Centre at 416-978-8030