Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,

Allah (SWT) says:

وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

“Do not lose heart, nor fall into despair. You will be superior if you are true believers.” (3:139)

The Muslim Association of Canada has been working for many months to organize its annual MAC Convention for our community.  The convention offers three days of learning, connection, and spiritual renewal. This year’s theme, “Living with Purpose: Upholding the Way of Allah,” is meant to be a message of hope and a call to action 

This week, those who wish to silence our voices have made their intentions clear. Nearly every international scholar and speaker invited to the MAC Convention has been subjected to coordinated targeting by the CBSA. ETAs have been cancelled without notice. Visas have been revoked. Respected scholars have been interrogated for hours at Toronto Pearson International Airport, denied water, not given a space to pray, and subjected to vulgar language by federal officers. Only one international speaker has been permitted to enter Canada. This was not a coincidence. This was deliberate.

This is not about MAC. This is about something far larger. It is about the use of government agencies to silence free thought, free speech, and free assembly, targeting people broadly and Muslims in particular. It is about foreign lobbying interests dictating to Canadian institutions who may speak on Canadian soil and whose voices Canadian Muslims are permitted to hear. It is about people who believe they have the right to determine what kind of Islam we practice, what values we hold, and which scholars we learn from.

We reject that. Entirely and without apology.

Think for a moment about our youth. Young Canadian Muslims who have grown up learning from these scholars, who have been shaped by their wisdom, who look to them as guides in navigating faith and life in this country. It is nothing short of absurd that these same youth must now watch their scholars being turned away at the border and humiliated by federal officers, not for any wrongdoing, but to serve a foreign agenda that has no place in Canadian public life.

We cannot allow this moment to pass without response. We cannot allow Canada to return to the darkest days of the post-9/11 era, when Muslim communities were surveilled, suspected, and systematically marginalized. We fought our way back from that. We built institutions, raised families, contributed to this country in every field and at every level. We will not go back. We will not allow fear and intimidation to become the defining experience of Muslim life in Canada again.

The MAC Convention goes forward. Our scholars will address us, some in person and some virtually, because no border can contain knowledge, wisdom, or truth. And we invite every Muslim in Canada, and every person of conscience, to respond to this moment not with despair, but with presence, with strength, and with resolve.

Here is how you can stand with your community today:

1. Attend the MAC Convention Show that the Muslim community cannot be intimidated and will not be silenced. Join thousands of Canadian Muslims this weekend and let our numbers speak.

2. Sign the Petition CMPAC have launched a petition calling for full accountability for the coordinated targeting of our speakers. Sign it and share it widely. https://speakupforchange.ca/campaign/CBSA-Accountability-Now 

4. Share Our Statement MAC has issued a full public statement. Share it on your social media, in your masajid, and within your networks. The wider this reaches, the stronger our voice.

Statement from the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) Regarding the Targeting of MAC Convention Speakers by the CBSA 

Our scholars have crossed oceans to be with us. Some have been turned back at the door. But their message reaches us still, and our obligation to stand for justice, for our community, and for truth remains unchanged.

This convention is not just an event. It is a statement. It is our declaration that we are here, that we belong, and that no campaign of intimidation will diminish our presence in this country or our contribution to it.

Allah (SWT) says:

وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ

“And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose.” (65:3)

We will see you at the convention.

Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,

Muslim Association of Canada