Canada is a democratic country, but it has to struggle against idiots and troublemakers to prevent them from disturbing the country's social fiber. Some of these rabble-rousers are from other countries. Terry Jones, the US pastor who burned copies of the Holy Qur'an and who equates Islam with Nazism, was refused entry into Canada. He had visited Canada earlier and expounded his views. His recent ouster touched off a debate. Let the idiot speak, wrote one columnist. Don't let the idiot speak, countered another.
A third one declared that fraud, greed and dishonesty are the hallmarks of Terry Jones. Canadians cherish free speech. But they don't favor burning copies of holy books or inciting people against each other. Canada does have a law against promoting hate. The UK had also barred Jones “for the public good.” However, Ron Banerjee, leader of the Canadian Hindu Advocacy, led a protest in front of the Toronto District School Board against allowing Muslim students to offer Friday prayers in a school cafeteria. The Jewish Defense League of Canada and the Christian Heritage Group joined in the demonstration. Mainstream Hindu, Jewish and Christian groups, however, dissociated themselves from the protest. Muslims constitute 80 percent of Valley Park Middle School's students. The school allowed them Friday prayers in the cafeteria so that they wouldn't miss classes by going to a mosque. This has worked well for three years. Others issues, meanwhile, keep popping up. The Canadian military announced this month that it will investigate how an anti-Muslim video got to be played at a formal dinner at a Canadian Forces Base in Nova Scotia province. The video shows a man pretending to be Osama Bin Laden's brother making derogatory anti-Muslim and anti-Islam comments. The video was described as an attempt to bully a visible minority officer. Defense Minister Peter Mackay stated that the Canadian military fully respects the country's religious and cultural differences. In the meantime, occasional acts of vandalism continue in different parts of Canada. Although Jewish synagogues and cemeteries and Christian churches have also been vandalized, most recent vandalism has been directed against mosques. The mosque in Gatineau, Quebec, has been the victim a few times. A mosque site in Barrhaven, Ottawa has been vandalized several times. The only mosque in tiny Prince Edward Island on the Atlantic coast has suffered the same fate. What's remarkable is that whenever such incidents take place Canada's politicians, security officials, faith leaders from different communities and neighbors rally to the Muslims, assuring them of their full support and friendship. Canadian Muslims have traditionally enjoyed good relations and ongoing dialogue with Christians. Now this has begun with Canadian Jews also, with both sides realizing that they share common values and a compelling interest in promoting equality, human rights, dignity and justice for all Canadians, irrespective of their faith or ethnicity. The most recent disgusting incident took place at a war memorial site at Coronation Park in Toronto when it was vandalized with the words, “Canada will burn praise Allah.” This happened on Remembrance Day, which Canadians solemnly observe every year to honor the memory of those who laid down their lives in overseas wars in defense of freedom and democracy. While Canadian authorities stated that they will conduct a full investigation, a Canadian Muslim Congress writer declared in the media that a Muslim girl twittered that the action seemed to be an effort to blame Muslims when it might have been done by some others. She offered no evidence. The same report said that the girl, apparently a university student, had spoken out rudely against the Canadian armed forces during a two-minute silence at a ceremony honoring Canada's war dead. Another Muslim university student is said to have unfolded a banner condemning Canada's troops in Afghanistan. The CMC writer, and the Canadian Muslim Congress president, claimed that only the Canadian Muslim Congress had condemned this vulgarity and that the Muslim “Establishment” and Canadian “mullahs” had kept silent. This is false. When the incident became public, CAIR-Canada issued a statement strongly condemning the vandalism and asking people to assist the government's investigation by providing whatever information they could. The Muslim Coordinating Council of the National Capital Region, which represents 40 Muslim organizations, also denounced the vandalism. It issued a statement that said in part: “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Canadians in condemning vandalism, whether it is against religious places such as mosques, churches or synagogues, educational institutions or historical sites.” The Canadian Muslim Congress keeps accusing Muslim organizations and leaders of not speaking out against extremism even though they have been doing so repeatedly. While this frustrates mainstream Muslims, it has helped CMC gain favor with some top politicians and the media. – Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge. He has received the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and the Queen's Diamond and Golden Jubilee medals
