Indian Expat in Canada Gets Fired Over Anti-Islamic Tweets

Is Canada finally taking Islamophobia seriously?

Islamophobia

As Canada reprimands an Indian man for Islamophobia, can we count on a wave of change? An Indian expat in Canada, Ravi Hooda was fired and removed from the student body following open displays of Islamophobia online.

Previously only Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates had taken action against brazen Islamophobia and incitement to ethnic violence on social media. As a first, Canada took action against Ravi Hooda when politicians and civil society members in the country expressed outrage over how one man’s attempt to be ugly and bigoted on social media was too much.

The Indian expat has since changed his Twitter account to private. He was fired from his job at RE/MAX a real estate firm.

https://twitter.com/REMAXca/status/1257787597830619137

 

What Happened Here

Racially charged hate and Islamophobia do not pop up overnight. Hooda thought that he could get away with an ugly tweet about mosques in the Toronto area. Little did he know it was the last straw for him.

Many Toronto-area municipalities have granted local mosques permission to broadcast the Azaan or call to prayer using loudspeakers during Iftaar (breaking of fast) every day during Ramadan. However, Ravi piled on with the hate.


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Islamophobia

Brampton, another city in the province of Ontario followed suit but only during Iftaar. Area resident Ravi Hooda took this chance to spew hate. In a tweet, he wrote;

“What’s next? Separate lanes for camel & goat riders, allowing slaughter of animals at home in the name of sacrifice, by law requiring all women to cover themselves from head to toe in tents to appease the piece fools for votes.”

That tweet is no longer available publicly.

Meanwhile, other Netizens hailed how Hooda’s company reacted. Since Muslims could not gather in mosques due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, this move was appreciated by the community.

Nay to the Hate

Canada, a multi-cultural nation known for it’s liberal and progressive values did not take well to the tweet. Soon enough it was making rounds on the Internet. Ravi’s school board at the Peel District School in Brampton announced that it had removed Hooda as ‘School Council Chair’.

An investigation is now underway against him. The school board pointed out that what Ravi did was a ‘clear violation of their Safe and Accepting Schools Policy‘.

“The Principal has begun an investigation. The individual is being removed from their role as School Council Chair and won’t be able to participate on council in any other capacity. Islamophobia is not acceptable and a clear violation of our Safe and Accepting Schools Policy.”

 


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Even Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown spoke out, saying that Islamophobia will not be tolerated in Canada.

 

Ravi is also a registered and certified immigration consultant, and a complaint has been filed with the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council, in this regard. He is yet to apologize for his comments.

Given India’s ruling party BJP’s sustained campaign against Muslims, it sure seems like their supporters’ politics have no place in other countries where tolerance for other faiths is essential.