Appearance by controversial Islamic activist at Ontario conference has been cancelled

A conference in Burlington that was to feature a controversial Islamic activist from the U.K. as a guest speaker has been cancelled.

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward posted a notice on X today saying the conference, which was supposed to take place at the Burlington Convention Centre on Feb. 24, will no longer take place.

“Your voices have been heard. As a result of community members raising concerns about an upcoming event, the Burlington Convention Centre announced today that the event has been cancelled. Thanks to everyone who reached out to my office to share your views,” said the mayor who avoided naming the conference, the presenters or the intended speaker.

However, Mohammed Hijab, a British-based Oxford-schooled philosopher who lectures on religion, politics and society from an Islamic viewpoint, was the planned featured speaker that was called the Reviving Roots Conference.

His topic for discussion is “Reclaiming the Muslim identity in a secular world.”

Critics have called Hijab antisemitic and anti-Hindu and question his beliefs on the age of sexual consent. He has countered by saying the mainstream media does not fairly represent the views of Muslims which he is trying to express.

The conference was to be presented by Mississauga-based i3 institute, which calls itself a non-profit organization that offers classical Islāmic education through a holistic and interactive approach. The organization has not responded to a request for comment.

Earlier this month the mayor said residents have reached out to her to complain about the event.

“I want to be very clear: we do not condone or support hate speech or any rhetoric that promotes division, hate, or violence, whether religious, racial, gender-based or otherwise at this or any other event taking place in the city,” she said at the time. “These types of statements and rhetoric are not welcome in Burlington. Neither my office nor the City of Burlington have been involved in the booking of this event.”

The Burlington Convention Centre has confirmed the cancellation. It is not known if the conference will be moved to another location or rescheduled to another date.