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Toronto, Canada – “We should all feel the pain of the Indians here… because we have seen what imperialism is doing in our homelands,” Aarij Anwer, Imam of the London Muslim Mosque in Ontario, said in a prayer service on Friday.
On Friday, Anwer was one of 75 Imams throughout Canada who offered words of condolence and expressed solidarity with Indian citizens following the discovery of an unknown cemetery, now numbering more than 1,000, in oppressive areas known as residential schools.
The Canadian Council of Imams and Justice For All Canada led these efforts to raise awareness. In his remarks, the Imams wrote, “The discovery of hundreds of graves of innocent children – kidnapped, tortured, tortured and starved to death in the name of the European monarchy – has robbed us of peace and shame.”
In prayer, Anwer appealed to his fellow Muslims to join the Indians, recounting the story of his grandfather who fled to Delhi after a court ruling in Britain and India and Pakistan in 1947. “You all have similar stories, I assure you,” he said. “That is why if any group is to suffer the effects of rivalry and colonialism and the brutal killings, we must be ourselves. That is why our compassion for the Indians should be greater, our support should go beyond that, because we know how it works.”
From the late 19th century to 1996, Canada forced 150,000 Indigenous children from their homes and housed them in church-run organizations, who cut their long hair, and barred them from speaking their own language or following their own traditions. Many had been physically and sexually abused. He was tortured in an electric chair, starved to death, and tempted on a diet.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), after years of research to cover thousands of survivors’ reports, described the agencies as “pathogens” in which many children died of tuberculosis. Some have died as a result of appearing to escape hardships such as imprisonment; others have died in the fire because, in preventing children from escaping, the agencies have disregarded fire safety guidelines or established escape routes.
TRC has found 4,100 children dying in these schools, although experts believe the true number is too high. The aim of these organizations was to exterminate Indian culture to create land and wealth for the people. The TRC confirmed that the practice was “culturally destructive”.
Anwer said he was forced to take action against the man and because his faith encourages him to stand up for the oppressed, as well as against the oppressor. “It should be disgusting to anyone who reads this,” Anwer told Al Jazeera. “They see these people as ordinary people, our natural family.”
Anwer said many Canadians are unaware of the magnitude of the violence in the organization. “I don’t remember reading this at school,” he said on a phone call Friday. “I remember reading about D-Day, the federation, John A. Macdonald, all these numbers, but I think they were the footnotes in the old books, if they were mentioned. As Canadians, we have to face the dark history on which this country is built.
“It’s not something we wash under the rug,” he added.
On Friday afternoon, Taha Ghayyur, director of Justice For All Canada, gave a speech at a mosque in Mississauga, Ontario. As he described what had happened in the “school” dormitories, some in the audience shook their heads, some looked upset, and a few raised their eyes in surprise. Ghayyur said people approached him after telling him they had heard of recent archaeological findings, but did not know why this was happening.
“It has to start with realizing it, which is why acceptance is the first step,” Ghayyur said. Figuratively speaking, it is a powerful message from the religious leaders. ”
Ghayyur said Muslims could understand this – from Palestine to the Rohingya people to the Uighur group. He also said that the people of Uighur in Canada had told him that they were “reviving” their experience in Xinjiang while learning about “schools” living in Canada.
Speaking to the Indians, Ghayyur said: “We are sorry for you – we do not know your pain – but we want to be with you.”
“We stand by them, because they were wronged,” Anwer told a mosque on Friday. “And we must, as a team, find the courage to reject what has allowed this to happen.”
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