Dr. Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui

Professor, Sociologist & Researcher, DEI Expert Sheridan College

  • Toronto ON

DEI, Social Inequality; Immigration; Integration; Refugees; Racism; Islamophobia; Deviance; Radicalization; Terrorism; Hate Crimes.

Contact

Social

Biography

Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui is a professor, researcher and DEI expert at Sheridan College. She conducts fieldwork in the areas of migration, race/ethnicity and identity. Sabreena is also an excellent speaker on issues relating to her field of research and the experiences, perspectives, and behaviours of immigrants and their offspring. Her recent study on the health seeking behaviours of South Asian immigrants in the GTA has provided important insight into the perceived needs of racialized minority immigrants in accessing and utilizing health care services. Sabreena’s thesis focused on the identity-related intergenerational differences in the experiences and perceptions of Muslims living in Canada, and the integration challenges they face in the current climate of rising Islamophobia. She also looks at the ways in which non-Mosque based community organizations help facilitate integration and subvert pathways to radicalization. Sabreena is also part of a larger SSHRC funded project that is examining racial microaggressions as experienced by refugee youth living in St John’s and Hamilton. The research findings from her several projects have been presented to numerous academic and public engagements worldwide and featured in health equity reports. She has also written several op-ed articles to share her expertise on current events to a broader audience. Sabreena has been interviewed on CTV News, CBC News, Radio Canada International, Toronto Star and other media outlets to share her expertise on immigration issues. Sabreena’s contributions as an academic continue to make an impact on the policies relating to the equity of immigrants and racialized minorities in Canada. Sabreena is also very involved in community engagement and knowledge translation. She serves on the board of Canadian Council of Muslim Women and The Pluralist Foundation, as their senior communications executive and is also on the advisory board of The Canadian Muslim Vote.

Industry Expertise

Research
Public Policy
Public Relations and Communications
Political Organization
Religious Institutions
Writing and Editing
Media - Broadcast
Print Media
Media - Online
Women

Areas of Expertise

Sociology
Race Culture and Ethnicity
Identity
Politics Global Media and Culture
Immigration and Ethnicity
Immigration and multiculturalism
Immigration and Citizenship
Refugee and Human Rights Issues
Racism
Ethnicity and Multiculturalism
Ethnic Relations
Ethnicity, Nationality, and Theology
Islam and Muslim Lives
Islam and Muslim Lives in the United States;
Public Policy
Social Activism

Accomplishments

Most Outstanding Speaker Award

2012-09-12

Received Most Outstanding Speaker award in Waterloo University's "Emerging Realities" conference. I was selected amongst a panel of 50 speakers.

Education

McMaster University

PhD

Sociology

In Progress

The University of Waterloo

Master of Arts

Sociology

2013

StonyBrook University New York

Bachelor of Arts Honours

Sociology

2009

Affiliations

  • CCMW Board Member - Senior Communications executive CCM
  • Advisory Board Member for The Canadian Muslim Vote
  • Co-Chair Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom | Toronto
  • TDSB Islamic Heritage Month Resource Binder | Contributor/Editor

Languages

  • English
  • Persian
  • Urdu
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Media Appearances

Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui speaks with Wendy Mesley about Islamophobia in Canada

CBC|The National  tv

2017-03-31

Siddiqui, a researcher on immigration and race at Mc Master University discusses anti-Muslim sentiment in Canada and why it can't simply be chalked up to 'the Trump effect'

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Video Targets Muslim Students

CTV News  tv

2017-03-31

Staff at an Peel District School Board are being asked to be extra vigilant after a disturbing video surfaced online offering a thousand dollar reward for recordings of Muslim students praying. Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui, researcher on immigration and racism at McMaster University joins us to speak further on this:

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Video offering $1K reward for recordings of Muslim students praying ignites fears

CBC News  online

2017-03-31

Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui, a researcher on immigration and racism at Hamilton's McMaster University and spokesperson for the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, agrees a frank conversation is necessary.

"In a way I do feel like it's important that this person's views were expressed in a way where he wasn't hiding behind a keyboard. We have a lot of political correctness in Canada and that's why we kind of have this illusion of Canada being this elite and tolerant and perfect place."

"If you look at the most recent M-103 fiasco that we had, so many people thought that Islamophobia didn't need to be included because it's not a thing. Well this is a perfect example of it being a thing.

"I personally believe that it's very important to bring these stories to light, so that more people can understand that we do have a problem. Because until we know that a problem exists, we can't challenge these views, we can't confront them, we can't address them. They just get swept under the rug, unfortunately."

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Event Appearances

Public Perceptions of Canada’s Response to the Syrian Crisis : An examination of the views of white post-secondary students attending Mcmaster University

19TH National Metropolis Conference | Looking Forward: Migration and Mobility in 2017 and Beyond  Montreal, Canada

2017-03-18

Being a refugee, Being Black, Being Muslim : Exploring Integration Challenges for Refugee youth

NATIONAL RAP CONFERENCE Enhancing Refugee Integration Through RAP Innovation  Ottawa

2017-03-09

Shaping Immigration to Canada: Learning from the Past and a Vision for the Future - “The Double Bind: Exploring Integration Challenges for Muslim Refugees amidst Islamophobia”

Pathways to Prosperity National Conference  Ottawa

2016-12-02

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Research Grants

Ontario Graduate Scholarship

Government of Ontario

2016-05-01

Funding for doctoral dissertation

Ontario Graduate Fellowship

Government of Ontario

2015-05-01

Funding for doctoral dissertation

Articles

You know there’s a problem when you get 50,000 anti-Muslim emails in your inbox

National Observer

2017-03-10

"A two-pronged approach must be taken to combat the rising climate of hate against Muslims in Canada. One that highlights the diversity of Muslims in Canada and another that requires the systematic analysis of the experiences of those Muslims who continue to be targets of religious discrimination. Motion-103 does not single out Muslims but it includes Muslims in a dialogue that often excludes their voices and experiences."

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The Quebec mosque attack victims spent their lives vilified as terrorists. Then they were murdered by one.

Rabble

2017-02-10

"A radicalized, right-wing, white Trump supporter walks into a place of worship and terrorizes a room full of innocent Muslim men as they submit in peace and prayer. How depressingly ironic! These men became the victims of the very label that the media and public use to condemn them: terrorist".

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The terrorizing actions of a radicalized Trump supporter

National Observer

2017-02-10

"Calling the Quebec massacre a terrorist attack is imperative for us to delineate and separate terrorism from Islam and the villains from the victims. In the current climate of fear-mongering and division, now more than ever, it is extremely important for us, as Canadians, to be careful with our words and our definitions and to call things out for what they are, even if the Americans do not".

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