The ‘Islamophobia is’ video series was inspired by our years of work in anti-Islamophobia education and activism. Islamophobia is marginalized within mainstream conversation and, what is discussed, often focuses on its interpersonal manifestations rather than it systemic roots.
Our team’s collective academic, activist, educational, legal, and film production backgrounds – as well as our self-identification as primarily Brown Muslim women personally impacted by Islamophobia – have made us aware of this gap, and invested in addressing it.
Writers/Directors
Azeezah Kanji is a legal academic and writer. She received her Juris Doctor from University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, and Masters of Law specializing in Islamic Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Azeezah’s work focuses on issues relating to racism, law, and social justice. Her writing has appeared in the Al Jazeera English, Haaretz, Toronto Star, TruthOut, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, OpenDemocracy, and various other media outlets and academic anthologies and journals. Azeezah also serves as Director of Programming at Noor Cultural Centre.
Khadijah Kanji holds a Masters in Social Work. She is the Social Justice Programming Coordinator for Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto; and a board member for an Ontario-wide non-profit serving 2SLGBTQ+ youth. Khadijah writes and speaks regularly on issues of race, gender, and sexuality, in community and academic settings. She has previously worked in therapy, research, and program evaluation.
Executive Producer
Aeyliya Husain is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on issues of representation, images of war and their interpretation, women, and photography. She has exhibited at festivals both nationally and internationally including, Tribeca Film Festival, San Francisco Docfest; Glasgow Short Film Festival and São Paulo Film Festival as well as broadcast around the world.
Animators
Firuz Daud wears many hats: award-winning animator, artist, designer, editor and, above all, storyteller. His work has been broadcast internationally and featured at the cinema in Canada. His critically acclaimed animated short film, Sometimes People are Animals, was screened in Canada, Finland and Estonia. He has a cat named Sophie.
Alessandra Hechanova is a digital communications strategist with a knack for storytelling and a penchant for puns. She specializes in graphic, motion, and web design, copywriting, photography, and social media management. Her work has been featured in the Financial Post, Yahoo Finance, The Walrus, Benzinga, Greatist, Elite Daily, Trend Hunter, and in Canada’s Science and Technology Museum.
Video Narrators
Safiyyah Ally, PhD: Executive Producer and Host of the television show, Let the Quran Speak
Desmond Cole: Black activist, award-winning journalist, author, and radio host
Prof. Noura Erakat : Palestinian-American legal scholar, human rights attorney, journalist, author and activist
Prof. Hayden King: Anishinaabe scholar, Professor at Ryerson University, and Director of the Yellowhead Institute
Naheed Mustafa : award-winning author, and radio/television producer; a producer at CBC Radio’s iconic “Ideas” since 2018
Video Editor
Grade 6-12 Educators Guide
Curriculum Consultants: Nadia Ali (BEd, MEd in progress); Suzanne Muir (BEd, Equity); Kerry Sagar (BEd)
Designer: Alessandra Hechanova
Website Consultant
Impact Consultant
Thank you to our funders!
