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 for a Jew-free phrase appearing in a word cloud during a youth conference held in May 2026. The incident occurred during an interactive exercise where participants anonymously submitted words to create a word cloud based on desired community attributes. The phrase "jew-free" was included among the fifty words in the cloud, leading to widespread condemnation as a display of antisemitic hate.

MAC acknowledged that the statement was offensive and hurtful to Jewish Canadians, Muslim Canadians, and anyone committed to a pluralistic society. The association rejected the antisemitic entry, stating it was submitted by an anonymous actor and did not represent its values. MAC found that the incident could have been prevented, as controls to screen submissions were lacking in the third-party application used.

The organization plans to offer additional training for youth facilitators to identify and address any hate during live sessions. The controversy also extended to speaker Khaled Al-Qazzaz, who praised Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna during a prior session, leading to accusations of promoting Jew-hatred. MAC defended the speech, claiming it was a historical biographical session meant to inspire Canadian Muslim youth.