Muslim Association of Canada apologizes for 'Jew free' appearing in word cloud during youth convent

The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) has issued an apology following the appearance of the phrase 'Jew free' during an interactive word-cloud exercise at its recent convention. The phrase surfaced among 50 entries generated from responses to a question about the desired community during the three-day conference in May 2026.

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Offensive and discriminatory statements of any kind have no place in the Muslim community, and MAC unequivocally states that the submission of this word was unacceptable and does not represent its values.

HonestReporting condemned the incident as "normalized Jew hate." In response, MAC conducted an internal investigation, acknowledging the phrase was "offensive and hurtful to Jewish Canadians" and contrary to its values. The organization stated that an "anonymous, bad-faith" actor submitted the phrase, but its inquiry could not identify the individual due to the anonymous nature of all submissions.

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This isn't just a disturbing and all-too familiar phrase on a screen. It's a warning sign of what happens when Jew-hatred is institutionalized and normalized in spaces meant to shape the next generation.

MAC concluded that the incident was preventable, citing insufficient controls in the third-party application used for the word cloud. The organization plans to implement additional training for youth facilitators to identify and address hate speech during live sessions. The convention also faced scrutiny over a speech praising Hasan al-Banna, which MAC defended as a historical educational session.

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a historical biographical session using Imam Hassan al-Banna’s life to educate attendees.