I am. Here’s the story:

According to the Toronto Sun, a task force has been set up to study the effects of “Islamophobia” on Muslim students on Ontario college and University campuses.

The Canadian Federation of Students launched a task force yesterday that will go from school to school across the province to hear from Muslim students who have had good and bad experiences because of their religion.

“I’ve noticed differences in how people treat you,” U of T student Ausma Malik said, adding the treatment can be subtle and come from both students and faculty.

…

The task force will also look at ways to make Muslim students more comfortable at school — including the availability of halal meats, special prayer rooms and on-campus multifaith centres.

Something as simple as a prayer room in a library to make it easier to study and pray five times a day, as is required of observant Muslims, would make things better, Malik said.

Further investigation shows that the goals of this Task Force are:

Provide a forum for Muslim students and campus community members to speak out;

Encourage awareness and education about the needs of Muslim students and campus community members in Ontario;

Document incidents of Islamophobia and institutional responses on campuses in Ontario;

Develop strategies and document successes in addressing the needs of Muslim students in Ontario and make recommendations that are campus-specific and system-wide; and

Produce a Task Force Report on the hearings for publication and distribution.

So, I read that and then started to look into it further, wondering who pays for such a thing. It turns out that, as a Graduate Student at U of T, I do.

That’s the way Unions work, isn’t it? I used to work for a labor union. I paid dues, and received benefits. The problem was that the union used my money for all sorts of things that I didn’t like. But that was tough, because without paying your dues, you could not receive benefits, and, indeed, could not even work. That’s where they get you. You pay the dues, or you don’t participate. We use your money how we see fit.

Well, as a student at U of T, you buy into the Student Union, Local 98 - Canadian Federation of Students. Turns out that I buy into the student union, whether I like it or not, and, in return 2 things happen. 1) I get good things like perscription drug coverage, and dental care. 2) They get to use my money to study “Islamophobia,” on campus, and provide “prayer rooms” in libraries for observant Muslims. No two ways around it - just the way it is.

There are a couple of things that need to be highlighted about this “Task Force.”

First, according to reports here, here, and here, this task force was begun last year, after anti-Islamic graffiti was found at Ryerson University, as a campaign to combat “Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Racism”:

“When Muslim students at Ryerson were targeted, students across the province realised that we needed to come together to promote inclusive campus communities, so we launched a campaign against Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Racism,” said Greener. “The more we became familiar with the challenges facing Muslim students, the more it became apparent that issues like access to suitable prayer space and halal food options have received little attention. Even the financial barriers to education are magnified for Muslim students whose religion can prohibit taking interest-bearing loans.”

One of the sites even has this nifty logo:

My major question has to do with the original, broader mandate of the campaign. What happened to combating anti-semitism, and racism? According to the above paragraph, it might sound as if those issues were never really considered. As soon as it is stated that the campaign had 3 broad goals, the spokesperson says “The more we became familiar with the challenges facing Muslim students…” No word on Jewish students, or other minorities. Was this ever really a broad based effort to confront anything more than “Islamophobia?” I have my doubts.

Secondly, since when do public Universities provide prayer space for any religous group? There are schools within U of T that are religious schools (Toronto School of Theology), but these colleges entered the University as Christian schools. Further, if you want to talk about financial barriers, talk about international students forced to pay nearly 3 times the amount of domestic fees for tuition. But hey, that is just the way it goes, right? That is the cost of education, right? I think so. But no, let’s divert student funds towards studying how to make it easier for this one particular group to pay their tuition.

Thirdly, why does everything have to be a -phobia these days? I don’t understand it. Well, maybe I do understand it. When someone doesn’t agree with you, or holds an alternative position, it is always easier to insult them than it is to intelligently argue with them. Which is why, people who believe that Islam is not as peaceful as it claims to be, who do not agree with its principles, are automatically labelled “Islamophobic.”

This is ridiculous. A phobia is “a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it.”

I do not have an irrational and persistent fear of Islam, or Muslims. Does the fact that there are not provided “adequate prayer spaces” on campus necessarily indicate a “persistent and irrational fear” of Muslims? I think not. It probably means that, like Christians and Jews, you have to find your own place to pray. Does the fact that most student loans are interest bearing, contrary to some faiths, but certainly contrary to everybody’s financial desires, describe a situation of genuine oppression against Muslim students? No. But, when you want to demonize the opposition without actually dealing with issues, how better than to brand them as fearful, irrational nuts?

In the meantime, here are the lines from my tuition invoice:

$60.84, going for a number of things, but, certainly to this misguided, exclusive, and biased Taskforce. And, some of the fees students are charged are refundable...but not this one.

Remember, this is the same Student Union, who in the name of “inclusivity,” agreed to include the Campus’ Pro-Life group’s literature in their welcome package to freshmen- only to then deny its inclusion after all the material had been printed - for no credible reason.

On the bright side, if you are a U of T student, you are invited to participate in these “talks,” or, at least in a planning meeting. In my latest SAC newsletter, I am told:

Xpression against Oppression, huh? Clever.

More info, vent your displeasure, whatever:

Canadian Feberation of Students Press Release listing Jesse Greener as the contact: 416.925.3825.

Taskforce on the Needs of Muslim Students - with a healthy domain name: noracism.ca

University of Toronto Student’s Administrative Council - with contact information for our campus officials.

I’ll at least be calling to express my displeasure. Probably won’t attend the planning meeting though. Hell, maybe I’m afraid.

Posted by casey on Sunday, September 24th, 2006 at 3:49 pm.