Canada blocks British-Iraqi Muslim leader amid rising Islamophobia and securitisation of diaspora voices
Original framing: “Anas al-Tikriti, British-Iraqi founder of Cordoba, denied entry to Canada” — Middle East Eye
The denial follows a century-long pattern of Western states using immigration controls to suppress political dissent, from the 1920s deportation of anarchists to the post-9/11 ‘extraordinary rendition’ of Muslim activists. Canada’s 1976 Immigration Act was weaponised against Black and Indigenous activists, setting a precedent for today’s securitisation of Muslim communities. The Cordoba Foundation’s work mirrors historical interfaith movements, like the 19th-century Muslim reformist networks in India that bridged Hindu-Muslim divides under British surveillance.
The denial of entry to Anas al-Tikriti is not an anomaly but a symptom of Canada’s post-9/11 securitisation regime, where Muslim diaspora voices are systematically excluded under the guise of ‘national security.
’ This pattern echoes historical border controls used to suppress dissent, from the deportation of anarchists in the 1920s to the criminalisation of Indigenous land defenders. The Cordoba Foundation’s work—bridging Muslim and non-Muslim communities—challenges the state’s binary of ‘moderate’ versus ‘radical’ Islam, making it a target. Indigenous legal traditions, which frame hospitality as a sacred duty, offer a radical alternative to Canada’s settler-colonial border regimes. The solution lies in decriminalising Muslim activism, empowering marginalised voices in policy-making, and funding interfaith solidarity networks that bypass state surveillance. Without these changes, Canada risks deepening social divisions and driving radicalisation toward the very groups it claims to combat.