History of the Working Group

The history of addressing Islamophobia at the University began in 2017 with the establishment of an Institutional Advisory Table to discuss issues impacting the University community. By 2019, this evolved into the Anti-Islamophobia Working Group (AIWG).

Building on this foundation, the Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Discrimination Working Group (MAP DWG) was established in the fall of 2024. MAP DWG is led by a Chair, Professor Anver M. Emon, Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) and Canada Research Chair in Islamic Law & History. Professor Emon is a leading scholar of Islamic law and history, and teaches in the Faculty of Law and Department of History in the Faculty of Arts & Science. He lectures in constitutional law, statutory interpretation, Islamic law and history, and comparative legal traditions. In recent years, his research has included a focus on Islamophobia. In addition to examining CRA audits of charities and editing Systemic Islamophobia in Canada: A Research Agenda, he inaugurated the Structural Islamophobia Research Lab at the IIS. His work in this area led to a federal appointment to the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector, where he led working groups adopting a whole-of-government approach to charities regulation.

This new Working Group has a mandate to engage in consultations with the University community, commencing in winter 2025, and to deliver a final report with recommendations to senior leadership, supported by the Assistant Director, Faith & Anti-Racism, and the Executive Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.

MAP DWG Mandate

The Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Discrimination Working Group will:

• Review University policies, services, and practices and provide recommendations to advance inclusion and belonging for Muslim, Arab and Palestinian community members;
• Consult with University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, and librarians about their experiences of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Arab discrimination and harassment at the University and gather recommendations on how to advance inclusion and belonging for Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab community members;
• Identify and review the University’s existing practices, processes, and policies to i) address anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Arab discrimination and ii) advance inclusion and belonging for Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab community members;
• Review previous equity reports from the University of Toronto and comparable institutions regarding faith and anti-racism inclusive practices to identify other ideas for enhancing inclusion for Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab community members;
• Recommend and contribute to an institutional strategy and actionable steps to help the University achieve a more respectful, equitable, and inclusive community; and to help combat Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab discrimination at the University; and
• Develop a tri-campus inventory of existing resources, initiatives, units/departments, and projects that address systemic and individual forms of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Arab discrimination.

*For the purposes of this report and Working Group, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discrimination will be used synonymously.