Birju Dattani

Birju Dattani (also known as Mujahid Dattani) is a Canadian lawyer and human rights professional who is a senior fellow at the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University. Dattani was previously appointed as Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2024, but he was forced to resign before starting his role due to accusations of antisemitism.

Early life and education

Dattani was born in Calgary, Alberta, to parents who were refugees from Uganda.[1] He later attended the University of Wales and the London School of Economics.[1][2]

Career

Prior to his federal appointment, Dattani served as the executive director of the Yukon Human Rights Commission.[1] He also held positions at Centennial College and worked as a human rights lawyer in Alberta.[1]

Appointment to Canadian Human Rights Commission

Dattani was appointed to become the first Muslim or racialized chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, with a term to begin August 8, 2024.[1][3][4] However, Dattani resigned on August 7, only 1 day before his term was set to begin, after complaints from Canadian Jewish leaders accusing Dattani of antisemitism under the alias Mujahid Dattani.[3]

In 2015, Dattani appeared on a panel with a member of the Islamic fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which calls for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic caliphate.[5][6][4][7] Dattani denied knowing that the other panellist was a member of the group and said "I wholeheartedly disagree with and condemn Hizb ut-Tahrir".[5]

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs criticized what they said were Dattani's comparisons of Israel and Nazi Germany on the Twitter account @mujahid_dattani.[8][5] Dattani acknowledged sharing the article, but said that it was "for discussion as I was an academic studying such issues" and that he "did not agree with the comparison".[5]

Later career

After resigning from the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Dattani became a senior fellow at the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University.[8]

References

1. Hatherly, Dana (21 June 2024). "Yukon's past director appointed Canada's top human rights commissioner". Yukon News. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
2. Department of Justice Canada (14 June 2024). "New Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission appointed by Minister of Justice". www.canada.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
3. Bessner, Ellin (7 August 2024). "Birju Dattani has resigned as chief of the Canadian Human Rights Commission". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
4. Levitt, Howard (5 July 2024). "Howard Levitt: Human rights commissioner's past leaves agency open to allegations of bias". The Financial Post. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
5. Major, Darren (25 June 224). "Feds reviewing new human rights commissioner's online posts after Jewish advocates raise concerns". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
6. Blaff, Ari David (25 June 2024). "New head of Canadian Human Rights Commission investigated over allegations of anti-Israel activity". The National Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
7. Starr, Michael (3 July 2024). "New Canadian Human Rights Commissioner to be investigated for BDS past". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
8. Taylor, Stephanie (23 September 2024). "'It raises an eyebrow': Embattled federal human rights pick lists job he never did on resume". The National Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 29 December 2024.