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Islamophobia here is in fact strong enough to warrant self-defense classes for Muslim women and an anti-Muslim incident tracker, started by the National Council of Canadian Muslims in 2013. Dozens of events were recorded last year.Polls gauging Canadians' views on the Liberals' refugee plan, meanwhile, have been fairly split, with a recent one reporting 48 percent are in favor while 44 percent are opposed. In other words, almost half of Canadians do not want Syrian refugees to be resettled here—hardly a fringe minority. Another survey shows a majority of the population (63 percent) is concerned Syrians will become a burden on social services and the healthcare system.And yet a quick scan of headlines relating to the pepper spray ambush ("Syrian refugees say pepper spray attack won't spoil first impressions" or "Pepper Spraying of Syrian Refugees Won't Hurt Canada's Reputation: John McCallum"), reveals a frustrating desire to minimize this hate crime as a one-off and reassure the public, and the rest of the world, that all is warm and fuzzy here.Even members of the Syrian community quoted in these articles appear to be appeasing Canadians."To be honest, Canadian people would not do this, the majority of them," said Tima Kurdi, the aunt of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, who was found dead on a Turkish beach. "They are big supporters to the refugees."Read on Broadly: How Islamophobia Hurts Muslim Women the Most
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