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Naked Kenyan man beats 52 year old delivery man to death with firewood he was delivering to Airbnb apartment (video)
Sunday, 21 January 2024 15:38 Written by lindaikejisblog A man delivering firewood to an apartment in Texas, USA was killed by a naked man who beat him to death with the logs. Scotty Jackson, 51, was found dead in the front yard of a home on Wendover Drive in Fort Worth Saturday night, January 13 after suffering "severe blunt trauma" to the head and neck, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported. Jackson, who was delivering firewood purchased from him by the homeowner, was approached by a naked man acting belligerent and extremely violent while unloading the U-Haul, according to the homeowner, who did not want to be identified. Omondi allegedly went up to Jackson and the homeowner and started yelling in the face of the homeowner for being "on his property" while holding up a key. The homeowner said Omondi pushed him and then allegedly struck Jackson repeatedly with a piece of wood, ultimately dumping a wheelbarrow of firewood on him. Watch the video below… _1705696311.jpg)
Police responded to the home after multiple people called to report the assault.
An arrest affidavit obtained by FOX 4 said the naked man was identified as 27-year-old Chrisantus Omondi, from Kenya, who was renting an Airbnb on the street.
"He never wants to see me again. I should leave," the homeowner recalled Omondi yelling. "[Jackson] then replied, ‘No, this is his property and his house. Just let us unload firewood because it’s cold outside.’"
The suspect then chased the homeowner into his house before going back to Jackson and beating him to death with the firewood, according to the homeowner's recollection, which police confirmed through other witnesses and video surveillance.
"Fully believe with my whole heart that he was out to murder both of us," the homeowner told FOX 4.
After the deadly attack, Omondi allegedly went back to the Airbnb he was staying in and threatened a woman renting another room in the home who was doing laundry, the arrest affidavit included.
The woman told police that Omondi was yelling," I'll beat your a--. I'm going to f--- you up," while trying to force his way into her room. She was able to get into a bathroom, where he was also trying to break into when police arrived.
Omondi, who was still naked and described as "non-compliant and aggressive," was told by police to leave the home, which he did while yelling at law enforcement. He was ultimately arrested after officers deployed a taser.
Omondi, who has a criminal history, was charged with murder by Fort Worth police and is in the Tarrant County Corrections Center. He is also facing charges from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office for aggravated assault of a security officer and obstruction.
Video shows moment child kidnapper tried to snatch 4-year-old boy from Walmart in Florida
Friday, 05 January 2024 01:18 Written by lindaikejisblog A man tried to snatch a 4-year-old boy from a Walmart in Florida and it was caught on video. Watch the video below. 
Pablo Pintueles Hernandez was busted December 29 in Lee County and charged with false imprisonment of a child 13 years old and under.
Newly released surveillance footage captured the would-be child abductor allegedly attempting to steal the boy from his family.
In the frightening clip, the little boy is standing next to a family member wheeling a cart inside the store when, suddenly, Hernandez appears, coming up beside the child and grabbing his wrist.
Hernandez tells the boy, "Let's go," while trying to whisk him away.
But the family member sees what's happening and promptly steps in, yanking the boy back from Hernandez and notifying the police.
Investigators reviewed the surveillance footage, using advanced technology to quickly identify Hernandez, and showed up at his house one hour later to haul him away in handcuffs. 
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno issued this statement, "What this criminal did is incredibly disturbing. I never want anyone in Lee County to feel unsafe, especially going on a simple shopping trip. My team will stop at NOTHING to ensure criminals like this face the consequences of their actions."
Oral health is health: Better access to dental care may have potential benefits beyond Canadians’ mouths
Tuesday, 02 January 2024 01:03 Written by theconversation 
Noha A. Gomaa, Western University
Oral diseases, particularly dental decay and periodontal (gum) diseases, are largely preventable, yet are some of the most common non-communicable diseases around the world. Pain due to untreated dental decay impacts eating and sleep quality, among other essential functions. Indeed, the agonizing nature of dental pain earned it the title of “the hell of all diseases” more than 200 years ago.
But pain is only the most obvious of the many ways oral health is linked to overall health.
Access to dental care
The federal government recently launched the long-anticipated Canada Dental Care Plan (CDCP) to improve access to dental care for the almost nine million Canadians who lack dental insurance.
The program comes in light of the increasing barriers to dental care with the most recent data from Statistics Canada showing that one in four Canadians avoid seeing a dental professional due to costs. While this burden affects mostly low-income families, seniors and people living with disabilities, it also places a huge toll on the population as a whole.
On top of the time lost from school or work due to dental problems, many without the means to access dental care end up seeking care in hospital emergency departments, unnecessarily costing the health-care system billions of dollars.
The CDCP is an important milestone that could eventually get many Canadians the dental care they need and deserve. Meanwhile, this investment in oral health is a reminder of the importance of a healthy mouth, what makes it fundamental to overall health, and notably, how the potential impact of improving access to dental care for those who need it most may extend beyond the mouth.
Oral health is integral for overall health
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines oral health as “the state of the mouth, teeth and orofacial structures that enables individuals to perform essential functions such as eating, breathing and speaking, and encompassing psychosocial dimensions such as self-confidence, well-being, and the ability to socialize and work without pain, discomfort and embarrassment.”
A healthy, disease-free mouth is key to quality of life and well-being. Being fundamental to various essential functions, the lack of oral health connects it to a number of chronic diseases in several ways.
The most recent WHO report shows that dental decay and gum diseases affect almost 25 per cent of Canadian adults — a higher figure than that observed in the United States. Importantly, both conditions are among the most common causes of tooth loss in adults globally, thereby impacting the ability to eat, the quality of nutrition and, in seniors, contributing to frailty and declining cognitive health.
Severe gum disease in particular is an inflammatory condition that is linked to several other chronic conditions through exacerbating inflammatory reactions in other organs and body systems and that may arguably contribute to some heart and kidney diseases, among others.
Importantly, there is a bidirectional relationship between gum diseases and diabetes, where severe inflammation of the gums and supporting bone can aggravate the risk and complications of diabetes, and vice versa.
The consequences of an unhealthy mouth also extend to an individual’s social interactions. For example, those experiencing poor esthetics due to crooked, broken or stained teeth are more likely to be stigmatized and blamed for their dental appearance. In severe cases, they may potentially have fewer opportunities for employment.
Observations such as these bring to mind the 19th century’s French naturalist and father of paleontology, Georges Cuvier who famously said, “Show me your teeth and I will tell you who you are.”
Cuvier’s statement at the time intended to describe how teeth where distinctive of populations according to diets and environmental impacts. Nevertheless, it is not hard to see its relevance to the appearance and health of the mouth and teeth and their impact on how one is perceived in today’s society.
Children’s health and dental care
Certainly, oral diseases affect all age groups and children are no exception. Recent reports show that almost 39 per cent of Canadian children under nine years old have dental decay. Just like in adults, the impact of dental decay on children extends to poor nutrition, and affects sleep and development.
For example, Canadian kindergarteners in need of dental treatment were found to score lower on physical, cognitive, social and emotional development scales than those without dental problems. On top of this, researchers found the treatment of severely decayed teeth to be by far the most common reason for children aged one to five years old to receive general anesthesia to undergo surgery.
Dental care and chronic conditions
The connection between oral health and overall health is evident in myriad ways, and so is the need to improve oral health and access to dental care in Canada. It also raises the question of whether dental care can help alleviate chronic conditions beyond the mouth.
The scientific evidence on that varies, and largely depends on the chronic condition in question. For example, patients with diabetes are among those who can benefit the most from having better access to dental care. Treating gum diseases can help subside body inflammation and reduce the risk and complications of diabetes by helping the body regulate blood glucose levels.
Notably, Canada ranks fourth out of 29 countries in the Region of the Americas in its rate of lip and oral cavity cancer. Many dentists are trained to spot the signs of oral cancer and can help in its early detection, which can be lifesaving.
As we learn more on the impact of dental treatment on chronic disease management, we know that facilitating access to dental care can have promising results on several fronts. In addition to saving costs for individuals and our health-care system, it would enhance the population’s oral health and potentially help in the management of some chronic diseases, such as diabetes.
Importantly, it can reduce the pervasive and inequitable burden of oral diseases.
Indeed, investing in better access to dental care may bring us closer to a healthy smile and beyond, for every Canadian.
Noha A. Gomaa, Assistant Professor, Dental Public Health and Oral Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
18-year-old girl and her parents found d3ad in $5M mansion in possible murd3r su1cide
Saturday, 30 December 2023 12:19 Written by OASESNEWS
A teenage girl and her parents were found dead in a $5 million Massachusetts, USA mansion overnight in an apparent domestic violence incident, police authorities said Friday, December 29. The bodies of Rakesh Kamal, 57, his wife, Teena, 54, and their 18-year-old daughter, Ariana, were found in their home estimated to be worth $5.45 million — at about 7:30 p.m on Thursday, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said. The district attorney who described the “terrible tragedy” as a “domestic violence situation” said a gun was found near the husband’s body. He refused to say whether all three family members were shot dead — and by whom. “I hate to see it at any time,” Morrissey said of domestic violence incidents. “I think some of the tensions that people feel in relationships often come out around the holidays.”
Morrissey said he was waiting for the medical examiner’s ruling, which was expected later Friday, before deciding whether to refer to the incident as a murder-suicide.
“Although the investigation is at a very preliminary stage, the evidence available at this time does not indicate the involvement of any outside party, but suggests that this is a deadly incident of domestic violence,” his office said in a statement.
“It is not believed that there is any ongoing danger to the Dover community related to this incident.”
The family’s mansion went into foreclosure a year ago and was sold to the Massachusetts-based Wilsondale Associates LLC for $3 million, property records obtained by The Post show.
The Kamals had purchased the 19,000-square-foot estate – which boasts 11 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms – for $4 million in 2019, according to the records.
The slain family members were the only ones living in the mansion at the time, the DA said, adding that the area was “a nice neighborhood, a safe community.”
The daughter was a student at Middlebury College, a $64,800-a-year private liberal arts school in Vermont, Morrissey confirmed.
The grim discovery of their bodies was made after a relative had stopped by to check on the family members after not hearing from them in one or two days, the district attorney said.
Morrissey added that there had been no prior police reports or domestic incidents tied to the home.
Popular News
Legalizing cannabis led to increased cannabis poisonings in Canadian children. It could get a whole lot worse.
Wednesday, 27 December 2023 11:02 Written by theconversation 
Daniel Myran, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Yaron Finkelstein, University of Toronto
When Canada legalized non-medical cannabis four years ago, there was enormous uncertainty about how legalization could impact the health of Canadians. Since then, there has been increasing evidence that legalization has resulted in some negative health effects. The clearest of these is a large increase in accidental cannabis poisonings in young children.
We conducted two large studies that found a nine-fold increase in emergency department visits and a six-fold increase in hospitalizations for cannabis poisoning in children younger than 10 years (average age of 3.5 years) following cannabis legalization in Canada. These increases have been so substantial that cannabis is now a leading cause of hospitalizations for poisoning in this age group.
The government of Canada has just launched a mandated federal review of the health and social impacts of cannabis legalization. We argue that addressing the impacts of legalization on the health of Canadians must take precedence over the financial concerns of the cannabis industry, which are demonstrated by their growing calls to roll back or remove government regulations in the upcoming review.
Provincial variation
Looking at the provincial variation in the ways that legalization was implemented across Canada, it’s clear that increases in cannabis poisonings in young children did not need to occur.
At the start of legalization in October 2018, the federal government only allowed the sale of dried cannabis flower. After an intentional one-year delay, new products, including cannabis edibles like candies and chocolates, were permitted.
A wide variety of these edibles went on sale everywhere in Canada except in Québec, which prohibited anything in the form of chocolates, gummies and candies based on concern over their high appeal to children.
We found that most of the increase in cannabis poisonings in young kids happened after edible products came to market, and that Québec — which prohibited their sale — was protected from this effect and saw a much more modest increase in pediatric cannabis poisonings.
This lack of increase in Québec strongly argues against alternative explanations, including that these hospital visits are from illegal cannabis products, caregivers becoming more comfortable disclosing that kids may have ingested cannabis or pandemic influences.
Child cannabis poisonings
When we care for infants and young children who have been rushed to the hospital for cannabis poisoning, we see many parents and caregivers who are shocked by the severity of the cannabis effects on their intoxicated child. Children can become very sick, be less responsive and in severe cases suffer from seizures, trouble breathing on their own, or even enter a coma.
With no effective antidote, children with severe cannabis poisoning require hospitalization — sometimes in intensive care units requiring a breathing machine — until the cannabis is processed and cleared from their body. The long-term effects of these unintentional poisonings are unknown.
These increases in child poisonings occurred despite safety efforts by the federal government, which included parental education, restricting cannabis advertising, mandating plain and child-resistant packaging and restricting the amount of THC (the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) in a package to a maximum of 10 milligrams.
It’s important to note the cannabis industry is specifically asking that many of these regulations — including THC limits and child-resistant packaging — be removed to make their products more competitive with the illicit market.
But legalization is not shaping up to be just about replacing the illegal market. The legal market is expanding far faster than the illegal market contracts. Canadian households now spend an estimated 37.3 per cent more on cannabis from all sources (medical, legal non-medical and illegal) than they did before legalization (1.44 billion in the third quarter of 2018 vs 1.93 billion in the second quarter of 2022). That means that we, as a country, are likely using increasing quantities of cannabis.
Youth cannabis use and harms
A key goal of legalization was to reduce cannabis use and related harms in youth. While the data is less definitive, there is also some reason for concern that these harms have increased.
In Ontario, emergency department visits due to cannabis-induced episodes of severe vomiting (hyperemesis) and for cannabis addiction, cannabis-induced psychosis and poisoning have also increased in young adults since legalization.
The largest increases in emergency department visits due to cannabis occurred when the legal market began carrying new high-potency products and the number of cannabis retail stores rapidly expanded. These increases overlapped with much of the COVID-19 pandemic so it is hard to disentangle whether they reflect changes from legalization, a response to COVID-19 related stressors or a combination.
Social benefits of legalization
Increases in cannabis harms in young children and youth do not negate the social benefits of cannabis policy reform. Criminalization of cannabis created major problems, including life-altering limits on employment, education and financial opportunities. These effects were well documented to be heavily discriminatory due to over-policing among racialized communities and Indigenous youth.
Reducing criminal justice harms is of considerable public health interest. However, we argue that it does not necessitate cannabis commercialization that includes cannabis marketing, widespread cannabis retail stores and permitting ultra-high-potency products that appeal to youth and children.
As the federal government reviews the impacts of legalization to date, we recommend protecting the health of Canadian children and youth by — at a minimum — maintaining existing regulations. This includes plain and child-resistant packaging and THC content limits on edibles. Without these, we will almost certainly see greater numbers and far more severe cannabis poisonings in children.
While we examine more evidence on the impacts of legalization on younger Canadians, we also caution against loosening current rules that limit cannabis marketing and advertising which can appeal to youth and young adults.
If we want to reduce cannabis poisonings in children, we should consider further national restrictions on the taste and visual appearance of edibles and the type of edibles approved, as Québec has implemented.
Daniel Myran, Public Health Physician and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellow, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Yaron Finkelstein, Professor of Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Rapper Young Thug painted as the leader of criminal street gang that murdered and committed slew of violent crimes in Atlanta
Wednesday, 29 November 2023 05:36 Written by OASESNEWS
American rapper, Young Thug has been fingered as the leader of a criminal street gang that murdered and committed a slew of violent crimes in the Atlanta area over the past decade , a court heard today, as his long-awaited racketeering trial finally got underway. Georgia state prosecutor Adraine Love claimed the Grammy award winner accumulated drugs, cars, and guns as his followers competed to win favor by murdering, stealing, and hijacking in a decade-long spree. His record label Young Stoner Life was just a front for 'Young Slime Life', a street gang affiliated with the LA-based Bloods gang, while the rapper was known to his followers as 'King Slime', she claimed. Young Thug, real name Jeffrey Williams, faces up to 20 years in jail in front of the same Fulton County team that is also prosecuting ex-president Donald Trump under the same racketeering laws. 'They created a crater in the middle of Fulton County's Cleveland Avenue community that sucked in the youth, the innocence and even the lives of some of its youngest members,' Love said. And she warned Williams that his own violent rap lyrics would be used in evidence against him. 'Law enforcement didn't chase the lyrics to solve the murders, law enforcement chased the murders and found the lyrics,' she said. Stars including rappers Lil Wayne and Killer Mike are expected to give evidence in one of the most eagerly anticipated trials of the decade. The 32-year-old rapper was arrested and charged in May last year but jury selection alone took nearly 10 months amid farcical pre-trial scenes that saw one attorney led out in handcuffs and Williams accused of buying drugs as he sat in the dock. The bizarre theme continued in court on Monday as judge Ural Glanville ordered the court not to throw food to his service dog seated behind the bench. Wearing a black tie and spectacles, Williams listened intently as Love described how he became the 'proclaimed leader' of YSL after it split from the Cleveland-based ROC Crew in 2012. 'The evidence will show that these defendants, that the members and associates of YSL, they knew who their leader was and they knew the repercussions of not obeying their leader,' she said. 'You will hear evidence that when members and associates of YSL got in trouble, got locked up, the first person they called was either Williams or one of his family members.' She produced graphic photos of men allegedly killed by YSL members, as well as lyrics that 'bore a very eerie significance' to crimes that took place. And she said it was Williams who hired the getaway car used when rival gang member Donovan Thomas was gunned down in 2015. 'You'll hear evidence that after the murder of Donovan Thomas, no less than 50 shootings occurred over the course of the next several months,' she added. 'You'll hear evidence that hundreds, hundreds of bullets were fired into cars, into homes, and into people as a result of the rift Young Slime Life had with other people in the community.' She said a whistleblower will testify that Williams paid them to 'go to Miami and lay low in the wake of Donovan Thomas' murder,' but she admitted that the dynamic which sustained the gang was largely 'unspoken'. 'The state is alleging that these defendants had an agreement, unspoken but no less an agreement, to obtain property, things of value, cell phones, cars, stolen guns, through a pattern of illegal activity,' she explained. And she said that Williams 'knew he needed to have distance between himself and the crimes members and associates of YSL were committing on behalf of the gang.' Williams was one of 28 alleged gang members originally arrested last year and charged under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Some have since accepted plea deals but Marquavius Huey, Deamonte Kendrick, Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan and Shannon Stillwell are facing trial alongside their alleged leader. Williams, who has collaborated with stars including Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, Drake, and Childish Gambino has continued producing music behind bars since his arrest and released his chart-topping 'Business is Business' album this summer.
Nigerian-Canadian Radio Broadcaster and Publisher is the New President of Yoruba Community Association in Canada.
Thursday, 23 November 2023 04:29 Written by OASESNEWSMr. Michael Kehinde Abiodun a Nigerian-Canadian, On Air Personality; - one of the anchors of Yoruba Program "E Gbe Yewo", Canada's pioneer radio program in Yoruba Language that airs every Sunday from 10.30pm -11.00pm on 91.9FM and 1540am, Toronto, Canada, and The Publisher of oasesnews (www.oasesnews.com) based in Toronto, Canada, became the President of Yoruba Community Association, Toronto. GTA. Ontario. Canada, unopposed on Sunday November 19, 2023. Yoruba Community Association was founded over fifty years ago. Mr. Abiodun is the current Board Secretary of Nigerian Canadian Association (NCA) and The Board Secretary of Yoruba Community Association both in Toronto, GTA. Ontario. Canada.
''The Yoruba make more than 44 million people in Africa,are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 15.5% of the country's population according to CIA estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.''
Mr. Michael Kehinde Abiodun hails from Owo, Ondo State. Nigeria. He attended Adeyeri Grammar School Owo, Ondo State. Nigeria, first graduate set of Owo Polytechnic (name changed several times) but now Rufus Giwa University, Owo; Ondo State, Post Graduate School, Institute of Education, Rivers State University of Science and Technology Nkpolu, Port-Harcourt. Rivers State, Nigeria and Centennial College, Toronto Canada. Mr. Abiodun has a lot of experience in Special Needs with over twenty-two years working with the population living with Autism.
Find below Mr. Abiodun's Press Release after the Election:
Sunday November 19, 2023 was a memorable day in the History of Yoruba Community Association; Toronto. Ontario. Canada. A day new Officers were elected to various positions.
I thank you all for giving me this prestigious position as the newly Elected Yoruba President; Toronto GTA, Ontario, Canada as you believe in my capabilities, credibilities and creativities. I hope that with my able, experienced, knowledgeable, professional and skilled team we can match your expectations in achieving greater accomplishments.
I hereby appeal in the heart of heart, in the finest manifestation of human-will, that every member, every Yoruba Assocation/affiliate (in Toronto, GTA) to let us make our attendance at meetings be a priority as a necessary prerequisite for the love of our community. Similar strength of attendance-will had possibly existed before COVID 19. Yorubas are endowed with superlative degree of love, clarity of vision, intellectual curiosity, capacity for co-operation and support, and an elasticity of mundane thought capable of infinite extension both in length and breadth. Let us share our common motivations, values, attitudes and beliefs with others in our community, and care deeply about the issues and dilemas that challenge our dwindling monthly meeting attendance and community as a whole. Consultations with every President of the affiliate or perhaps even individuals shall be made to feel pulses on how our Numbers can be increased and consequently actualise our goals and dreams. I will not leave this page without mentioning those who made this event and my new office possible and I am proud to mention our Patron; Dr. Ola Kasim - very supportive, a Patron of brain, heart and very humane, he encouraged me to pick up the mantle. The Board Chairman; Chief Tunde Olagundoye - Man of high cerebral, Chief Mrs. ‘Sola Olubunmi- The immediate past President as well as Ms. Kemi Amusan ( Lady Kay) - The past President of Nigerian Community Association. Mr. Ayodele Sanni - The present Board Chairman of Nigerian Community Association. I also salute Mr. William OYETAKIN and Dr. Gabriel Ogundele for exhibiting total quality service and transparency during the election. I doff my hat for you all. I thank all Yoruba affiliates who sent their representatives to participate and to witness this memorable event. While thanking you, I seize this opportunity to request for your love and utmost support to ensure that Yoruba Community Assocation bounces back with full attendance like the Phoenix -the legendary Arabian Bird. Thank you. Michael Kehinde Abiodun President; Yoruba Community Association. GTA, Toronto. Canada
Sarah Jama’s censure: Making people feel uncomfortable is part of the job
Tuesday, 14 November 2023 04:22 Written by theconversation
Nadiya N. Ali, Trent University
Sarah Jama, a member of the Ontario legislature for Hamilton Centre, recently faced censure from Doug Ford’s Conservative government. She was also removed from the Ontario NDP caucus by her own party.
The NDP’s disciplinary response and the removal of her from caucus cannot be separated from the current climate. It is right in the middle of a nationwide Islamophobic backlash, where scores of others are also experiencing a wide range of institutional discipline.
Jama’s social media statement, released three days after the Hamas attack on Israel, sparked the disciplinary action. In her statement, she called on Canada to “hold true to its history of peacemaking and refrain from military intervention.” She referred to Israel’s siege of Gaza and subsequent bombardment. She also referred to an analysis by the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories calling Israel’s occupation apartheid. Her statement left out any mention of the Hamas attack on Israeli people on Oct. 7. Jama posted an apology for her omission on social media about 24 hours later and condemned Hamas.
But this wasn’t enough for the Progressive Conservative government, who put forward a motion the next week to censure her.
Controversy is nothing new
For Jama, a Black disabled Muslim woman of Somali heritage, controversy is nothing new.
As Jama has said: “Mak[ing] people feel uncomfortable” has always been part of her work.
For example, before her role as a member of provincial parliament (MPP), Jama had been actively organizing in Hamilton, addressing issues of homelessness, racial justice and disability rights where she clearly ruffled more than a few feathers.
On the eve of receiving the 2022 Woman of Distinction award, Jama was gearing to face a police officer who had charged her with assault — a charge that was later withdrawn.
Climate of Islamophobia
But in this case, the issue did not go away. Jama’s current story cannot be separated from the current surge in anti-Muslim racism.
To understand this surge, it’s crucial to recognize the influence of the “Islamophobia Industry” in Canada. Sociologist Jasmin Zine, a noted authority on Islamophobia, delineates this industry as a conglomerate of media outlets, political figures, far-right, white nationalist groups and Islamophobia influencers and ideologues, among others, fostering an environment where harmful stereotypes of Muslims as innately provocative and violent become commonplace.
This racialization lumps more than a billion Muslims into an undifferentiated mass, exploited by public discourse that sensationalizes violent narratives, devoid of geopolitical context or history.
This disregard of complexity, diversity and historical context in the operation of anti-Muslim racism means violence perpetuated by the likes of Hamas comes to be conflated with all Palestinians, all Arabs and by extension all Muslims.
This simple racist arithmetic, or Islamophobic math, produces horrific outcomes like the targeted killing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim boy in Illinois.
Here in Canada, according to a Statistics Canada report, hate crimes in general are up. Those against Muslims rose 71 per cent in 2021 from the previous year. And the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), has reported a sharp spike in the number of reports they have received regarding Islamophobic incidents these past few weeks (for example, instead of one report per day as they had previously, they are now receiving 13).
Additionally, Jama is a Black woman and it’s also essential to consider the intersecting and uneven nature of racism. According to the 2023 Black Muslim Initiative (BMI) report, written in collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University, Black Muslim communities in Canada consistently endure the highest levels of discrimination and exclusion across various sectors, including employment and housing.
Examples of anti-Black Islamophobia
Navigating the multiple forms of jeopardy faced by Black Muslim women means simultaneously surviving both interpersonal and structural anti-Blackness and Islamophobia.
Anti-Black, hate-motivated Islamophobia is often directed at women. Here are some examples:
- Dec. 2021: two Black Muslim women wearing hijabs were assaulted while shopping in Edmonton.
- Dec. 2021: a young Black Muslim woman was attacked at an Edmonton transit station.
- March 2021: A Black Muslim teenage girl in Calgary had her hijab torn off, while suffering a violent physical assault.
- June 2023: A Black Muslim woman was stabbed while serving patrons at an Olive Garden in Winnipeg.
Feminist geographer Délice Mugabo explains: “anti-Black Islamophobia” is the exclusion of Black people from the category of the human and Muslims from the category of the citizen. Consequently, fidelity to the nation, and constitution as a person is readily up for interrogation.
The trouble ‘they’ cause
The swift dismissal of people like Jama reaffirms the interlocking dimensions of oppression. Jama’s censure reveals how a Black woman’s assertion of self is commonly read as troublesome: “hostile, aggressive, overbearing.”
In the United States, the only Black Muslim woman in Congress is Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, who faced censorship and removal from the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee for her comments on Israel last year.
In practice, this double jeopardy leaves Black Muslim communities suspended, saddled with heightened vulnerabilities, and often erased from dominant discourses surrounding both anti-Blackness and Islamophobia.
And living as a suspended community means being the first to go, the first to be discarded. There are few grounds available to provoke so called “trouble.” Trouble is disorder, disturbance, violation of expectations, norms and values. As a Black Muslim, you’re already seen as trouble incarnated.
Interconnected liberation
However, just as oppression is interconnected, so is liberation. Jama made her first public appearance at a peace protest this past weekend in Toronto. She addressed tens of thousands of protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
The on-going global demonstrations and actions are proving to be the grounds where we can bring our troubles, cries, joy and pain.
Hundreds of activists and academics have signed a letter supporting Jama and she has said she will announce her plans to fight her censure on Nov. 14.
Nadiya N. Ali, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Trent University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
