Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association
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The Canadian-Muslim Civil Liberties Association (CMCLA) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1994.
Its mandate is to work to promote the legal rights and freedoms of the Canadian Muslim community, seeking to empower Canadian Muslims through legal, political and social avenues.
Muslims in Canada number between 700,000 and 750,000. As this community, certainly one of Canada’s largest minority groups, becomes more active and visible in Canadian society, it may encounter problems and barriers to equal participation.
The Association believes that numerous instances of anti-Muslim discrimination and anti-Islam propaganda occur in Canada. It holds that many of these instances can be found on such a consistent and continuous basis that they have become grounded in society’s perception of Muslims and of minorities in general.
Many Muslims believe that they have no power or ability to expose and address these injustices. Often this helpless feeling arises from the lack of information about civil rights and freedoms as well as a lack of faith in “the system” and what it can do for them. It is for this reason that a number of concerned individuals scholars, students, community activists established the Canadian - Muslim Civil Liberties Association.
CMCLA brings together individuals who are well versed in the Canadian legal system, those who have worked in the areas social policy as well as activists in the fields of education and the mass media. The diversity of these experiences and expertise enables CMCLA to address issues which reflect the complexities of Muslim life in Canada.
While CMCLA works at the grass roots level providing support to the individuals and communities, CMCLA’s goals are long-term and geared towards the national forum. This focus enables the organization to affect the changes at the institutional and political levels.
By establishing projects with this focus in mind, CMCLA hopes to ensure that Muslims do not continue to be deemed as “the other” in Canadian society. As well, this ensures that the public is aware of Muslim positions on the issues that affect Canadian society.
