The Windsor Islamic Council is calling on Muslims and the general population to sign a petition it hopes will curtail Islamaphobia.
The petition simply calls on the federal government to formally recognize that terrorist groups like ISIS do not represent Islam.
It needs 100,000 signatures before the governing Liberals will consider it, but so far it only just over 52,000 and the deadline is at the end of the month.
Council Chair Dr.Maher El-Masri says anyone can sign it.
"Any citizen who really cares about how we want to define Canada," he says. "We're a very inclusive and tolerant country, so anybody is welcome to sign this petition."
El-Masri hopes a declaration will educate the public, end stereotypes and help Muslims find greater acceptance in Canadian society. Right now, he says Muslims find themselves between a rock and a hard place.
"We have two struggles," he says. "One is to fight radicalization and extremism, but also to fight Islamaphobia that comes as a result of that. We don't want people to mix ordinary Muslims and Islam with extremists and radicals."
If the petition fails to get the required signatures, the motion will die.
