Federal Liberals consider cracking down on Islamophobia

In an effort to stamp out racism experienced by Muslims,the Liberal Party of Canada is considering adopting a policy to aggressively eliminateIslamophobia.

• Racist graffiti on campaign signs 'distressing,' says London Muslim leader

Omar Raza, director of the Windsor West FederalLiberal Association, is making the pitch during the Liberalconvention in Winnipeg. He wants the party to strike a task force to tackle the issue.

"This just reaffirms what the Liberal Party stands for and reaffirms that national and international leadership," he told CBC News from Winnipeg before the vote."We're here, not only to support our neighbours, but we're here to support each other and this policy helps do that."

Task force support

London, Ont. Muslim advocacy group Hikma supports the resolution. Group chairman Nawaz Tahir says creating a task force would raise the profile of tolerant behaviour and send a strong message to the public.

"That dialogue is really important to have. Some tangible outcomes would be nice, but the process itself will be the key piece," he said. "The journey is just as important as the destination."

Tahir became a voice for many of London's Muslim community during the federal election. The issue of racism emerged when a dozen campaign signs belonging to Khalil Ramal, the Liberal candidate running in London-Fanshawe, were defaced with racial slurs.

Tahir says the Muslim community got more politically involved than ever before and have remained so after the election.

"We agreed that post election it was important for Muslims to stay involved," he said. "We haven't really been involved politically. Lately, a lot of issues have come up that involve Muslims, so we feel it's important for Muslims to get involved in the community overall."