Shahina Siddiqui

Shahina Siddiqui is Executive Director of the Islamic Social Services Association (ISSA) Canada, which according to its brochure is "a charitable organization which works in collaboration with and integrated into mainstream human services to provide family, health and social welfare services, inclusive of the many cultural and ethnic groups that comprise the Muslim communities in Manitoba and Canada. ISSA helps facilitate, bridge, navigate, advocate, collaborate, educate and build awareness, and provide direct service and support to individuals and communities by collaborating and integrating into mainstream health and social services of the Muslim community."

Human Right Complaint against B'nai Brith Canada

In February 2004, Siddiqui filed a formal complaint under the "discriminatory signs and statements" section of the Manitoba Human Rights Code against B'nai Brith Canada. She claimed that she spoke with several people who attended a conference on terrorism for emergency responders that was hosted by B'nai Brith Canada in Winnipeg in October 2003, she wrote that "the presentation was biased against Muslims, I conclude that the content of the seminar presented a negative prejudice about Muslims in terms of being probable terrorists" and that "This prejudiced picture would encourage and support racial profiling by first responders and law enforcement agencies dealing with possible terrorist incidents." Although Siddiqui did not attend the conference herself and was based entirely on anonymous sources, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission (MHRC) accepted the complaint and began an investigation that would last five years. Five years later, in 2009, the MHRC issued a report that dismissed the complaint due to a lack of evidence.

The case was sharply criticized by the National Post and B'nai Brith Canada who argued that the MHRC accepted the complaint based entirely on hearsay evidence since Siddiqui did not actually attend the conference. David Matas, B'nai Brith's senior counsel and a prominent international human rights lawyer, stated that he didn't believe that Siddiqui "acted in bad faith" but criticized the MHRC, stating that "the people who run these procedures have to have a more objective viewpoint than the people who make the complaint." Siddiqui declined to comment on the case.

Police Complaint against the screening of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West

In May 2006, Siddiqui filed another formal complaint of racism against several Winnipeg Jewish community groups who cosponsored the movie Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West. Siddiqui stated that "I want the police to identify this as hate propaganda. I want them to be aware who the sponsors are and what they are doing." Police launched an investigation but subsequently reported that the film does not constitute hate speech under Canadian Law. The sponsors of the film noted that it had been reviewed in advance by the Manitoba Film Classification Board which classified it as 14A — requiring adult accompaniment for children under age 14 — with warnings for violence and disturbing content. The sponsors argued that the Board would not have approved the film for viewing by the public if it felt that it violated Canada's anti-hate laws.

Jeremy Feuer of the Winnipeg Zionist Initiative, one of the film's sponsors, stated that the screening of the film would go forward, and that "The only thing that's been changed is there's just going to be a police presence, which wasn't initially planned but that was brought on by the suggestion that there's the possibility of a protest." Siddiqui replied that no one in the Muslim community was planning to protest. She stated that her complaint was based on a concern that the film could cause a backlash of anti-Islamic acts. She subsequently asked for the police to provide security at local mosques and Muslim schools after the film's screening.

Publications

Siddiqui has written articles for Islam Online.

External links

• Islamic Social Services Association
• "Women Friends Mosques & Community Centers" (pdf report)
• Interview with Shahina Siddiqui by Amber Rehman on SoundVision
• Marriage in Islam by Shahina Siddiqui. Posted on SoundVision.
• Winnipeg Sun columns by Siddiqui
• "No Peace in Islam Without Justice" (Calgary Sun)