Georgia's new parliament opens first session amid mass protests and boycott    Gangsters block aid distribution in south Gaza    Russian deserter reveals war secrets of guarding nuclear base    Judge dismisses special counsel's election case against Trump    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Lulu Saudi Arabia celebrates its 15th anniversary with the grand launch of 'Super Fest 2024'    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Franchise registrations in Saudi Arabia surge 866% over 3 years    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Saud Abdulhamid makes history as first Saudi player in Serie A    Culture minister tours Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka    Saudi Cabinet to hold special budget session on Tuesday    King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Canadian Muslims a major asset to the country
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 08 - 2015


Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan
Montreal anti-Muslim blogger Point de Bascule criticized two Muslim organizations in Canada and then attacked me for trying to put the matter in perspective. When the National Council of Canadian Muslims criticized the Prime Minister last year for including an extremist in his entourage to Israel - a criticism other organizations also made - the Prime Minister's director of communications stated that NCCM has “documented ties with the terrorist organization Hamas.”
Many media and other organizations asked why if NCCM had ties with a terrorist organization, the government had not taken action. NCCM launched a defamation suit against the Prime Minister's Office. I wrote that NCCM should not waste time, money or energy in a lawsuit because the public reaction showed that the PMO's diatribe against NCCM did not convince Canadians that NCCM had ties with terrorists. NCCM works with civil organizations to defend human rights and the rule of law in Canada.
Bascule then ridiculed my criticism of the arguments made by University of Western Ontario professor Salim Mansur, who argued in a public debate that Muslim immigration to Canada be curtailed or eliminated because Muslims do not share Canadian values and mosques are promoting radicalism.
Professor Mansur teaches at a prestigious university. But he offered no reliable evidence that Muslims do not share Canadian values and do not become productive citizens. The great majority do. The statement about mosques spawning radicalism is also baseless. While some imams might have preached intolerance in rare cases, most imams emphasize that it is the duty of Muslims to serve and protect Canada. Mosques arrange interfaith dialogue with people of other faiths and seek to promote better relations between Muslims and their fellow Canadians of other faiths.
Informed commentators state that it is the Internet, social media and the policies of some Western countries to attack or seriously harm Muslim countries through their policies in the Middle East that drive a few youth to hit back against continued aggression, exploitation and oppression.
Bascule repeated Mansur's statement that the Muslim Association of Canada “draws inspiration from the Muslim Brotherhood, which seeks to subvert the West from within through immigration.”
As the senior adviser and director of multiculturalism in the royal commission the Citizens' Forum on Canada's Future (the Spicer Commission), I visited all parts of the country and conferred with ethnic Canadians, including Muslims, of all origins. The one desire they shared was to contribute to Canada and to build a promising future for their children.
I served as a refugee judge for ten years as a Member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Numerous refugee claimants were Muslims who testified that they feared persecution in their home countries on grounds of race, religion, ethnicity or political opinion. They yearned for peace, security and prosperity in Canada and were most grateful if we found that they met the requirements of the law and were eligible to stay in Canada. Subverting Canada was the last thing on their mind.
It is absurd to think that immigrants would want to, or could even if they wished, subvert the mighty West from within. It is equally ridiculous to imagine that a tiny minority of Muslims could impose Shariah in North America. And if subverting the West from within was that easy the Communists would have done so long ago through the Communist parties in the West.
I judge organizations not so much on their websites or mission statements, which organizations do not always follow, but on their work in the real world. MAC is a highly respected national organization. It seeks to inculcate Islamic values and solid Canadian citizenship among youth. Its Abrar School in Ottawa is among the best in Ontario. It encourages students, through scholarships and awards, to become top students and productive citizens.
Many Third World organizations like the African National Congress and the Indian Congress party were created when their countries were under foreign control, with locals often serving colonial masters. The East India Company, for example, used Indian sepoys to defeat Sikh and Muslim nationalists and to conquer India through its divide and rule policy.
People like Nelson Mandela, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Jomo Kenyatta and many others were dubbed terrorist or subversive by the colonial rulers and were jailed for long years for the crime of seeking freedom. A million Algerians were killed in their quest for independence.
Perhaps Bascule has difficulty understanding why people would be influenced by some leaders who yearned to preserve their culture while seeking modernity and freedom. Immigrants to Canada do not have this dilemma. They cherish their values and they love Canada. Their children, even more than the immigrants, lose interest in their parents' countries and become attached to Canada and to their Canadian friends. They become pillars of Canada, not a threat.
Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge.


Clic here to read the story from its source.