The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), the largest grassroots Muslim charity in Canada, hosted its annual convention in Mississauga, a major city neighboring Toronto. Running from May 17-19, the theme of this year’s event was “Turning the Tides: Anchored in Faith. Distinguished by Action.” The theme of the conference was “Turning the Tides: Anchored in Faith. Distinguished by Action.”
[I]t is quite concerning to see MAC offer a platform to individuals who espouse radical and dubious views about Jews, terrorism and LGBTQ rights...
As in previous years, the MAC convention featured multiple notorious speakers who have links to terrorist groups, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny and other retrograde ideologies.
Links to Islamists
Five out of the 44 listed speakers have alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a global Islamist movement designated as a terror group by Muslim-majority nations such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. The speakers in question are Khaled Hanafy, Franck Amin Hensch, Khaled Al-Qazzaz, Hussein Elkazzaz, and Wael Haddara.
Khaled Hanafy is a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure in Germany who was involved with Euro Fatwa, a dangerous hate app connected to the Islamist movement. The app, which was deleted from Google’s online store, contained an introduction by Yusuf Al Qaradawi, spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, that promoted Jew-hatred. Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution reportedly called the Euro Fatwa app, “a building block in the process of radicalization.” The app encouraged users to not obey European laws, if contradictory to Islamic rules.
According to MAC, Hanafy has held positions with the European College of Humanities and Social Sciences (EIHW) in Germany; the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) in Ireland; and the European Institute of Human Sciences (EIHS) in Paris – all of which are known for links to the Muslim Brotherhood according to European Conservatives and
Reformists Group led by Charie Weimers, a member of the Swedish Parliament.
Hanafy was also once an Islamic Legal Advisor for Islamic Relief Worldwide, a controversial charity notorious for their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, as recognized by Germany.
Franck Amin Hensch is a former president of the Ligue des Musulmans de Belgique (LMB) which, according to the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, was once reportedly known as the Ligue Islamique Interculturelle de Belgique (LIIB). A 2001 report by the Belgian parliamentary intelligence committee identified the LIIB as one of multiple Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations in Belgium operating under alternative names.
In 2005, Hensch was appointed secretary for Al Aqsa Humanitaire, the Belgian branch of the Al Aqsa International Foundation, which the U.S. Treasury designated in 2008 as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity for funneling charity money to Hamas terrorists.
Hussein Elkazzaz served as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and advisor for the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. He also served as a senior advisor to former Egyptian president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi.
Like Elkazzaz, Wael Haddara is a former senior political advisor to President Morsi. According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), while he was MAC president, Wael Haddara worked on Morsi’s presidential campaign in early 2012.
Other Problematic Speakers
Taha Ghayyur, Executive Director for Justice for All Canada, an organization that actively supports the Palestine cause and platforms pro-Hamas imams like Munir El-Kassam, was scheduled to speak at the conference. Ghayyur was the executive director of ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) Canada from 2017 to 2019 when the charity was suspended for a year and fined by the CRA for funding groups allegedly linked to terrorist organizations from 2007 to 2009.
Controversial Brooklyn imam Siraj Wahhaj is also among those slated to speak. According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Wahhaj was listed as a potential unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. During the trial, Wahhaj testified as a character witness for Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, a.k.a. “the blind sheikh,” calling him “a respected scholar” and “bold, as a strong preacher of Islam.” Abdel-Rahman was found guilty of conspiring in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and plotting a wider “war of urban terrorism” across the United States. Wahhaj once referred to homosexuality as “a disease on this society” and called the FBI and the CIA “the real terrorists.”
At least two speakers, Fadel Soliman and Jasser Auda, are affiliated with the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), a clerical voice of the Muslim Brotherhood, which issued a fatwa on armed jihad against Israel in March 2025.
Another speaker, Ebrahim Rasool, is the former South African ambassador to the U.S. who was expelled by the Trump administration in March 2025, partly due to “his ties to terrorism.” In 2007, Rasool met with Mohammad Nazzal, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, during the latter’s six-day trip to South Africa according to the Palestine Information Center, an anti-Israel organization.
What Does MAC Support?
The platforming of such problematic individuals by MAC raises genuine questions about the charity’s own views on terrorism, radical Islam, antisemitism and LGBTQ rights.
In an email to Focus on Western Islamism (FWI), Andria Spindel, executive director of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF), a registered Canadian charity, said, “Having reviewed some of the profiles of the speakers, it is quite concerning to see MAC offer a platform to individuals who espouse radical and dubious views about Jews, terrorism and LGBTQ rights and also celebrated the October 7, 2023 massacre of innocent Israelis and foreign nationals – all of which are entirely contrary to Canadian values. These are certainly not consistent with positive interfaith relations in a multi-cultural society.”
According to the George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, MAC is a highly influential organization within Canada’s organized Muslim community and openly acknowledges its status as a Muslim Brotherhood legacy group, stating that it was established by individuals connected to the Brotherhood and draws inspiration from its ideology.
Last year, the Canadian newspaper Le Journal de Montréal reported that the CRA was “concerned” about MAC’s links to terrorist groups.
A 2024 Middle East Forum report found that the controversial charity received at least $31 million of Canadian taxpayer funds between 2018 and 2022 despite its alleged infractions and links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
MAC did not respond to FWI’s queries regarding the conference and the speakers.
