If the point of this article is the "headline", it misses the  point. I doubt there are many real racists who would be persuaded to abandon their prejudices by meeting the enemy. Their hatred is visceral and irrational. They are usually fonts of misinformation.  However, there are many folks today who are labelled racists who are prejudiced against the practices or beliefs of certain ethnic or religious groups but  have no  personal animus against individuals of those groups and may even "know" members of those groups and like them based on who they are as individuals.  Using Muslims as examples, many Canadians may find  offensive the wearing of a burqa or the idea of a writer having his life imperilled by a fatwah and therefore want governments to exercise caution about admitting people from countries where those habits and beliefs are common. Getting to know someone who hews to these practices doesn't do anything to remove the "prejudice".