I Stand in Solidarity with the Muslim Community<3

When I first woke up today, I was in a very good mood, minus the fact that it was a lot colder today than it has been the last couple weeks, or the fact that it was Monday, it was sunny and I was so motivated for the day! However, it was when I finally got to watch the News today and I heard about the terrorist attack in Quebec inside a local Mosque during prayer time, my heart broke into a million pieces! I couldn’t hold back the tears throughout the entire news cast. Two of the biggest news stories on CTV News Toronto, were of the protests against the Travel Ban imposed by Donald Trump and his regime, and of the terrorist attack in Quebec city. It is so sad to me that this is happening in the world right now, and that it is even happening in my own country. A country that likes to think of themselves as inclusive and tolerant, when this act of violence shows anything but that. I’m at least happy to know that my Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau will continue to welcome refugees and immigrants from the predominantly Muslim countries that have been banned by the United States.

My blog however, was never meant to be a political blog at all, it was meant to share my passion, and knowledge of fitness and wellness with the world, but I cannot stand by and watch these things happen in the world. As a Canadian, and citizen of the world, I am writing this piece for two reasons:

1. Because I stand in solidarity with the Muslim community. I have trained many Muslim clients, and I continue to train Muslim clients, and they do not deserve the hate and discrimination that they have been facing.

2. I have an outlet, which is my blog. I have always made it my priority to use my blog as a tool to help others. It was originally meant as a wellness page, but I believe that it is everyone’s duty to fight for the rights of others, and to speak on behalf of those who don’t have a voice. Basically, I want to use this outlet to stand up for what I believe in.

The Travel Ban imposed by Donald Trump on predominantly Muslim countries like Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia, as well as the terrorist attack committed by Alexandre Bissonnette in Quebec City, both contradict the Canadian and American Constitutions. Both of our countries stand for religious rights and freedoms for all people, however, both of these acts specifically target the Muslim community. No matter what you may believe to know about Islam, it is the second largest religion in the world next to Christianity. Islam, just like many other mainstream religions are a positive outlet for people to connect with God, and to one another. I’m not a religious expert, and I’m not here to school anyone on what the Islamic religion is all about, however, I am here to tell you that it is not right to punish these people because of their religion, and where they come from. You are not punishing the terrorist groups like ISIS by targeting innocent people, which is exactly what both Donald Trump, and Alexandre have done. If anything they are fueling the fire for both the Extremist Islamic Terrorism around the world, and for the Racist, Islamophobic people to continue to commit these sorts of hate crimes, and terrorist attacks. And who suffers the most?! WE DO!!! All the innocent people who die for these hate crimes!

The seven countries that have been “temporarily banned” from the United States are currently suffering from some of the most current humanitarian crises in the world. There are major wars happening in all of these countries, and by not allowing any of these people to enter the States, you are putting millions of people’s lives at risk. Not only in those countries that you have banned them from, but in other countries as well. Instead of trying to help those who are suffering, Trump has sent a message to the world that all Muslims are possible Jihadis. This fuels the hate fire on both sides, and isolates a very large group of people. This sort of hate has spilled over into Canada, and is now made very visible by the death of 6 Muslim men during their prayer service in Quebec. Many Canadians have been very fearful of Trump’s election, and this definitely gives us a reason to be afraid. Trump is the “Leader of the Free World,” and he holds a lot of power and influence, and he is setting a precedent with this Travel Ban Executive Order. He is openly discriminating a specific group of people, and WE are now all suffering the consequences. Even though I may not be Muslim, 6 fellow Canadians died from an act of Terrorism. This very much does affect me. I don’t want to live in a world where I need to be fearful of my life. Where I am not able to openly be who I am, and practice my beliefs, but unfortunately for many of us, this is not a reality. This act of terrorism in Quebec affects all Canadians, and the Travel Ban does as well. If you want to live in a peaceful, democratic country, or world for that matter? Then you must be willing to fight for the rights of ALL PEOPLE!

Thank you for reading this post, it means a lot to me. I know it’s not what I usually write about, but I feel like it needed to be said. I am not happy with what is happening in the world right now, especially with some of the decisions that have been made by Trump, but we must stay positive! It is up to us to fight for our rights, and the rights of others! It is up to us, to take care of one another! We live in a globalized world, where we must work together in order to prosper, isolation, and hate is not the answer! Please keep yourself well-informed, because as the saying goes “knowledge is power.” It is through education that we can eliminate hate, I know how cheesy this last paragraph is, but we must educate ourselves on the people and things we don’t understand so that we can learn to live amongst one another.