FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - BCMA Calls for Immediate Accountability Over Anti-Muslim Rhetoric During BC Election

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BCMA Calls for Immediate Accountability Over Anti-Muslim Rhetoric During BC Election

The BC Muslim Association is deeply concerned by anti-Muslim social media posts attributed to Katy Merrifield, Campaign Director of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.

On June 17, 2026, Ms. Merrifield reportedly posted “f*ck Islam,” described Islam as an “abhorrent ideology,” and urged others to expel it in the name of defending “Western civilization.” Days later, she reportedly reposted a message declaring that “Islam is a literal rape culture.” These statements cannot be dismissed as a single mistake, a momentary lapse in judgment, or a private matter.

This is especially serious during a BC election period. A campaign director is not a minor or incidental role. A person in that position helps shape strategy, messaging, tone, and public engagement for a political party seeking to govern this province. Anti-Muslim rhetoric from such a senior campaign figure undermines public trust and makes Muslim British Columbians question whether their safety, dignity, and belonging are being taken seriously.

Muslims are not outsiders to British Columbia, Canada, or North America. Muslim roots in North America go back centuries, and Muslim presence in what became Canada predates Confederation. Today, Muslims are parents, neighbours, students, teachers, workers, business owners, volunteers, public servants, and community builders. Our faith and our community must not be vilified for political gain or dismissed as collateral damage in electoral debate.

BCMA is a non-partisan community organization. We do not endorse or oppose any political party or candidate. Our concern is the safety, dignity, and equal belonging of Muslim British Columbians.

BCMA calls on the Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia to address this matter urgently and remove Ms. Merrifield from any campaign leadership or public-facing role. We further ask the party to issue a clear public apology to Muslim British Columbians, confirm that anti-Muslim rhetoric has no place in its campaign or organization, and outline concrete steps to ensure this does not happen again.

Accountability cannot stop at words. We call on all political parties to adopt and enforce clear standards against Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, and religious bigotry; to provide appropriate anti-racism and anti-Islamophobia training for campaign staff and senior officials; and to act swiftly when those standards are violated.

Political debate must be robust, but it must never dehumanize a faith community or make any community feel unsafe in democratic life. British Columbia deserves an election where all people can participate with dignity, security, and respect.

BCMA

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 30, 2026

Statement from the BC Muslim Association on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the BC Muslim Association joins people across Canada in honouring Survivors of residential schools, remembering the children who never returned home, and standing with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis families and communities who continue to carry the pain and legacy of this history.

This day is not only a day of remembrance. It is a day of truth, humility, learning, and responsibility. Reconciliation cannot be reduced to words or symbols. It requires listening to Indigenous Peoples, acknowledging the harms caused by colonial policies, and understanding the continuing impacts of dispossession, forced assimilation, family separation, and systemic racism.

We also recognize that the harms experienced by Indigenous Peoples did not end with residential schools. The ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and girls, is a painful reminder that colonialism continues to shape conditions of safety, dignity, and justice today. This crisis is not the same as the residential school system, but it is connected to the same wider legacy of systemic racism, institutional failure, structural inequality, gendered violence, and intergenerational trauma. A sincere commitment to reconciliation must therefore include a commitment to the safety and dignity of Indigenous women, girls, families, Elders, and youth.

As Muslims in British Columbia, we recognize that our masajid, schools, homes, businesses, and community institutions are located on Indigenous lands. Many of us came to Canada seeking safety, dignity, opportunity, and belonging. We therefore have a responsibility to understand the histories of the lands on which we live and to build relationships rooted in respect, justice, and mutual care.

There are also important human connections between Muslim and Indigenous communities. Many Muslim families know the pain of displacement, racism, exclusion, cultural misunderstanding, and the struggle to preserve faith, language, family, and identity across generations. These experiences are not the same, and we do not equate them. But they can help us approach reconciliation with empathy, humility, and a deeper responsibility to stand against all forms of injustice.

Our Islamic values also call us to respect the Earth and all living beings as part of Allah’s creation. Islam teaches that human beings are entrusted with responsibility, not domination; care, not extraction; balance, not excess. This commitment to stewardship, humility, and respect for creation resonates with many Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing, which honour the land, water, animals, ancestors, future generations, and the relationships that sustain life. These shared values can become a foundation for deeper dialogue, learning, and cooperation between Muslim and Indigenous communities.

Our faith calls us to truth, justice, compassion, and the protection of human dignity. The Qur’an commands us to stand firmly for justice, even when it is difficult. These values require us to be more than passive observers. They call us to be responsible neighbours, trusted partners, and active contributors to healing and reconciliation.

BCMA commits to playing a more proactive role in Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. This includes encouraging education within our community about the history and legacy of residential schools, learning from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, creating opportunities for dialogue with Indigenous leaders and communities, supporting Indigenous-led initiatives where appropriate, and exploring ways for our schools, youth programs, branches, and masajid to engage more meaningfully in reconciliation.

We also recognize the presence and contributions of Indigenous Muslims, whose identities remind us that these histories and communities are not separate. They are connected through lived experience, shared spaces, and the common pursuit of dignity, belonging, safety, and justice.

On this day, we invite Muslim communities across British Columbia to pause, learn, reflect, and act. We encourage our members to listen to Survivors, support Indigenous-led education and healing efforts, and build respectful local relationships with Indigenous neighbours and Nations.

May this day move us beyond remembrance toward responsibility, beyond sympathy toward solidarity, and beyond statements toward sustained action.

BC Muslim Associaton

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