By Sayem Khan
(President, Imdadul Youth Council)
On Tuesday, November 19th around 80 members of various faith groups gathered at the Imdadul Islamic Centre in Toronto to mark a special interfaith event jointly co-hosted by the Imdadul Centre and the Holy Blossom Temple.
The event was successfully organized by a number of other community groups such as the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the Neighbourhood Interfaith Group, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and JSpace Canada.
The program started with a warm welcome address by the President of the Imdadul Centre Mr. Haroon Sheriff. Secretary Mr. Osman Khan then introduced Hamid Slimi, Imam of the Syeda Khadija Centre who recited a passage from the Quran followed by a recitation from the Torah by Rabbi Jordan Helfman from the Holy Blossom Temple.

Mr. Kalman Green an important member of the Holy Blossom Temple who has been spear-heading the conversation of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia for the past year was the chair of this event. He facilitated the event along with Mr. Bernie Farber from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and Len Rudner, a human rights consultant, as well as the Education and Outreach Coordinator of the NCCM Aasiyah Khan.
Sister Aasiyah played a thought-provoking video about how Muslim women often experience offensive and hateful comments at various public places. She explained how to follow what she called the 6-D methods to diffuse any such situation when people come across instances when they see hate crimes being perpetrated or they themselves experience hate crimes. These 6-Ds are: discover, distract, direct, delegate, document and delay.
Each situation is different and must be sized up before using one or more of the 6-D methods. Of course, safety is the paramount concern for both the person who might intervene and the person who is the target of the offence.
The highlight of the program was the real-life case studies. All the participants were divided into eight table groups and took part in interactive case study exercises. They spent around 15-20 minutes discussing the cases which entailed various situations where the people in the cases would face discriminatory behaviour due to their religious beliefs, cultural differences or dress.
Half of the case studies involved situations involving Islamophobic incidents and half involved anti-Semitic incidents. With this approach members shared personal stories of being a victim of such hate-fuelled incidents or having known someone who faced similar situations. The ideas and possible solutions to the cases shared by the guests reflected the level of competency and their experience in interfaith work.
Members of the Imdadul Youth Council assisted with the logistics of the program under the leadership of Brother Zafrul to run the event in a smooth manner. Everyone really appreciated the opportunity to connect with members of other faith groups and network with them.
All participants enjoyed a sumptuous dinner and desserts. The guests were touched by the hospitality of the Imdadul Centre. Moreover, they were gracious enough to share ideas on how the event could be even more effective in the future.
Overall, all the facilitators emphasized the importance of being both a responsible and active bystander in such provocative situations. Simply by knowing what to do and doing it, individuals can have a tremendous impact in diffusing such confrontations.