|On 11 September 2001 a small group of religious extremists shocked the world by attacking the USA and killing more than 3,000 people. Because the extremists were Muslims, then President George W. Bush declared a “War on Terror”, launching attacks on al-Qaeda and Afghanistan and severely curtailing civil liberties inside the US. Anti-terrorist operations were later rapidly extended to other parts of the world.
In the wake of a sudden wave of Islam phobia, Canada’s Parliament rushed to pass a tough new Anti-Terrorism Law whose unintended consequence was the vilification of Muslims communities throughout the country. In a revealing new documentary called “Change Your Name Ousama!”, film maker Fuad Chowdhury and former CBC security correspondent Bill Gillespie have shown how Canadian Muslims joined 9/11’s many victims. Read more...
Currently WACC Deputy Director of Programmes and editor of the international journal Media Development. Recent publications include Communicating Peace: Entertaining Angels Unawares (ed.) (2008), and Public Memory, Public Media and the Politics of Justice (ed.) (2012).