Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's special representative for combating Islamophobia is warning against allowing the Israel-Hamas war to become a catalyst for the stereotyping of Muslim Canadians.
Amira Elghawaby, who was appointed to the new role in January, released a statement on the impact the war is having on members of Canada's Muslim communities.
She says people are expressing fear about a ``resurgence'' in Islamophobia that ``has troubling echoes of the past.''
She refers to the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when Muslims and Arabs ``felt collectively blamed, stereotyped and racially profiled.''
Elghawaby says that locally, Muslims and Arabs ``felt pressured to condemn actions unrelated to our communities'' and experienced what she calls ``a silencing effect'' when it came to community members voicing their views about human rights.
Her statement says the legacy of 9/11 is ``being rekindled'' in the current war.