Williams Lake Council affirms its stance against hatred and Islamophobia

Williams Lake Council affirms its stance against hatred and Islamophobia

Published at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday June 30, 2026

There is no place for racism, Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor said before the city council recently agreed to take several steps to prevent fear, misinformation and hatred from taking deeper roots in the community.

At a regular meeting on Tuesday, June 23, council unanimously resolved to recognize Islamophobia as a form of harm identified in British Columbia’s anti-racism law and to commit to taking action to address and prevent Islamophobia within the community.

The Council further resolved that the City affirm that all hate speech, religious discrimination, and intimidation have no place in the community, and promote respectful and educational interfaith and intercultural dialogue through a social media campaign, website statements, and interviews with media outlets represented by Rathor.

The Council’s recommendation. Michael Moses followed a Tuesday, June 16, Committee of the Whole meeting in which members of the Central Cariboo Islamic Center expressed growing concerns about incidents of hate speech, misinformation and fear-mongering that have recently emerged, particularly on social media platforms.

In mid-May, the group noted that photographs taken with guests visiting from Surrey without consent were then shared publicly in a local community Facebook group, with the nature of the post and subsequent comments suggesting harmful stereotypes and generating numerous hateful and discriminatory comments.

Such comments, the group says, have incited fear, suspicion and hostility against an entire religious community without evidence or justification, with many Muslim families in Williams Lake now feeling unsafe and worried for their well-being.

Treasurer of the Islamic Center of the Central Cariboo, Dr. Ali Rehman, said Dr. Rafiullah Sahibzada was standing near the Williams Lake Farmers’ Market and was approached by a stranger who called him a terrorist.

“We cannot deny the fact that social media controls everyone’s mentality… It changes the way people think, it changes the way people react,” Rehman said, referring to several tragic hate crimes against Muslims in Canada in recent years.

Advice. Moses called it disheartening to see discrimination happening in Williams Lake and reiterated that at the Tuesday, June 23, regular council meeting.

Administrative Director Gary Muraca noted that the majority of Moses’ seven proposed actions were outside of local government and that many social agencies were already doing this work.

Although the council has an important role, Muraca said it needs to be mindful of the costs of duplicating efforts and that, because the city doesn’t have a social planning staff, it would be better if it were a player at the table.

“Where the work really needs to be done is at our tables and in our classrooms, and we need to make sure that our community is teaching the values ​​of kindness and the values ​​of acceptance, and I think we’re doing a good job of that, but these examples and reports that are being sent to us show that we still have work to do and I’m up for that work and I think the rest of our community is as well,” Moses said.

“I’m excited that we can get started on these projects, whether it’s through the social planning council or another entity that we can work with.”

Moses called the passage of B.C.’s Anti-Racism Act several years ago and, more recently, the federal government’s passage of the Anti-Hate Act (Bill C-9) comforting.

Rathor thanked Moses for bringing his recommendation to the meeting on Tuesday, June 23, and also highlighted the recent defacement of the Pride Rainbow Crosswalk that was raised to him by 2SLGBTQAI+ community member Billie Sheridan.

“No one should have to go through this,” Rathor said, calling on Muslim and 2SLGBTQAI+ communities to be an integral part of society and for everyone to respect each other.

Moses requested that his recommendation be amended with two of the seven actions split into separate actions, and that the other five be submitted to the social planning board on topics they could potentially take action on.

It was adopted unanimously.

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