In the last week, the Outaouais Islamic Centre in Gatineau, Quebec has been vandalised twice. The national advocacy organisation, CAIR-CAN issued a regular condemnation of the attack and called on “politicians, security officials, other faith and community leaders in Gatineau and the National Capital Region to stand firm against all forms of hate, racism and xenophobia.”

I would go much further than that. Anti-Muslim bigotry has reached a point where asking everyone to “do something” doesn’t work. The politicians, and in particular, the Conservative and Quebec variety, have themselves been fanning the flames of anti-Muslim bigotry . We need to start pointing fingers and asking more direct questions.

Lets start with Jason Kenney, our Minister of Immigration. He has in the past issued condemnations when synagogues are vandalised (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/statements/2011/2011-01-17a.asp) and when Ahmedi mosques in Pakistan are attacked. Kenny obviously has no such sympathy for Muslims and mosques in this country. Kenney has never said a thing about the repeated attacks on mosques in Canada – no word of condemnation, nor support for the Muslim community. No surprise for a guy who in 2003, described the Serbian massacres and rapes against Bosnian Muslims as “modest” (http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/12/19/praying-for-kenney-and-his-list-of-hates)

Stephen Harper is no better. As PM, he has pursued a deliberate policy of marginalising and demonising (“islamicism”) the mainstream Muslim community in Canada. The Tories have a wedge policy – if you are on their side of the wedge (like Jews, Ahmadis and Ismailis), you will be blessed with government largesse, visits by the PM and consultation. If you are designated to be on the other side, you get nothing. Harper as PM has not set foot in a mainstream Muslim mosque. Consistently condemning attacks on churches in Egypt or Pakistan, while ignoring attacks on mosques in Canada (or Israel) cuts too close to bigotry. Do both if you are fair.

Lets also point the finger at the Quebec politicians, including Marc Bureau, the mayor of Gatineau, who have been trying to score political points off the backs of Muslims for years. From the PQ to the ADQ and the Charest led Liberals, to the xenophobic leadership in places like Herouxville and Gatineau, all have promoted and used anti-Muslim hysteria. The debate over phantom niqabi voters and “guidelines” for new immigrants are manifestations of exactly this. At least in the case of anti-Semitic feelings in Quebec, the Tories in Ottawa have taken visible stands to support the Jewish community. Harper and his ministers have routinely visited (and correctly so) synagogues and Jewish organisations to show support. They have done nothing of the sort to stand up against anti-Muslim bigotry.

Lets not forget the extremists over at (anti) Muslim Canadian Congress – I have yet to hear a single condemnation from them of any mosque attacks in Canada.  While quick to denounce any real or phantom menace from the Muslim community, like how the Canadian government and RCMP are overrun by Islamists, they have yet to actually stand up for Muslims.

This same week a mosque in New York was firebombed as well (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/02/islamic-group-condemns-ny_n_1179427.html). The reaction from local police and political leaders could not have been more different from that in Canada. Both Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo immediately condemned the attack, with Cuomo saying the attacks “go against everything we stand for as New Yorkers and Americans,”.

Well said. That is leadership. Our politicians have not shown any – and we need to start asking them why.

Email Jason Kenney : jason.kenney@parl.gc.ca

Email Harper :  stephen.harper@parl.gc.ca

Jean Charest contact info : http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.qc.ca/premier-ministre/joindre-pm/index-en.asp

Marc Bureau, Mayor of Gatineau : maire@gatineau.ca

Note: be firm, and always polite

While the rest of the world treats Hitler admirer Narendra Modi as a demagogue involved in mass murder, Canada appeases him.

At the end of September 2009, Stockwell Day travelled to Ahmedabad to open the Canadian trade office for Gujarat, where he shared a stage with Narendra Modi ( http://deshgujarat.com/2009/09/25/canada-opens-new-trade-office-in-ahmedabad/). Canada already has trade offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, and given India’s growing status as an economic powerhouse, it’s not surprising that businesses here would be interested in an increased presence there. What is disturbing, is the Harper governments choice of the Modi governed Gujarat. While the US treats Modi as a major violator of human rights, and denies him entry, Canadian politicians have no qualms travelling to Gujarat and enhancing our relationships with the man known as the Butcher of Gujarat.

Background on the Gujarat Riots On 27 February 2002, 59 passengers, including many women and children, died in a fire in a compartment of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra station in Gujarat. At that time, Gujarat government officials described it as a “planned attack” by local Muslims on Hindu pilgrims returning by train from Ayodhya. In the following days and weeks, Hindu mobs targeted members of the Muslim minority in the state.

Between February 28 and March 2, 2002, under Narendra Modi’s leadership, Hindu nationalists perpetrated mass murder of Muslims in the state. In 16 of Gujarat’s 24 districts, 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed, 200,000 were internally displaced. Over 100,000 homes, thousands of hotels and establishments – specifically targeted for being owned by Muslims – were damaged or destroyed. Relief camps were attacked at night.

People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a leading human rights organisation, alleged that the Gujarat riots were not an outcome of the Godhra incident as the “planning” had begun much earlier and charged the state government with complicity in the violence. http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?art_id=11812188

According to a PUDR report, “Planning for attacks against the minority community had begun much before February 27 .There had been a steady build-up of meetings, distribution of leaflets etc over the last two years, all propagating hatred and myths about the minority community,” it added.

Calls to rape Muslim girls and women were contained in pamphlets produced by the VHP and RSS and distributed in Ahmedabad months before the violence started. A VHP leaflet called Jihad (holy war), signed by VHP state general secretary Chinubhai Patel, calls on Hindus: “”We will cut them and their blood will flow like rivers. We will kill Muslims the way they destroyed Babri mosque”". It goes on to spell out the sexual nature of their communal hatred” http://discardedlies.com/entry/?2401

In April 2002, retired supreme court justices V. R. Krishna Iyer and P. B. Sawant headed a citizen’s panel to investigate the riot. Their report includes testimony of the then Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Haren Pandya (since murdered), who testified about an evening meeting convened by Narendra Modi the evening of the Godhra train burning. At this meeting, officials were instructed not to obstruct the Hindu rage following the incident. The report also highlighted a second meeting, held in Lunawada village of Panchmahal district, attended by state ministers Ashok Bhatt, and Prabhatsinh Chauhan, and other BJP and RSS leaders, where “detailed plans were made on the use of kerosene and petrol for arson and other methods of killing.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Gujarat_violence

In a 2007 expose, the newspaper Tehelka released hidden camera footage of several members of the BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal admitting their role in the riots. Among those featured in the tapes was the special counsel representing the Gujarat government before the Nanavati-Shah Commission, Arvind Pandya, who resigned from his post after they were made public.

The US Denies Modi a Visa

In 2005, As Narendra Modi was preparing to travel to the US to speak at conference, the US Department of State revoked Mr Modi’s ‘tourist/business’ visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a law that makes “any government official who was responsible for or directly carried out at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom, ineligible for a visa”.

The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) had invited Modi as chief guest for their annual convention in Florida in March 2005. The Coalition Against Genocide (http://www.coalitionagainstgenocide.org/) CAG called on Chris Matthews, host of Hardball on MSNBC, to decline the invitation to speak at the AAHOA Convention, and American Express to rescind its sponsorship of AAHOA. On March 8, Chris Matthews withdrew from the AAHOA event.

On March 15, 2005, House Resolution 156 was introduced in the United States Congress by Congressperson John Conyers, ranking Democrat (Michigan), House Judiciary Committee, and Dean, Congressional Black Caucus, and Congressperson Pitts, member, India Caucus and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, “condemning the conduct of Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his actions to incite religious persecution and urging the United States to condemn all violations of religious freedom in India.” On March 18, Modi was denied a diplomatic visa under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by the US embassy in New Delhi, as this was not a diplomatic visit, and his tourist and business visa was revoked under INA Section 212(a)(2)(G), “as an official responsible for carrying out severe violations of religious freedom,” under Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

Following this, AAHOA has withdrawn Modi’s invitation, and American Express has cancelled $150,000 in sponsorship money. http://www.countercurrents.org/guj-angana220305.htm In 2008, amid reports that Modi would be attending the World Gujarati Congress in New Jersey, the US once again reiterated that if Modi was to apply for a visa, he would be rejected for the same reason.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recalled that Modi was “previously denied entrance to the United States due to his role in riots that overtook the Indian state of Gujarat from February to May 2002 in which reportedly as many as 2,000 Muslims were killed, thousands raped, and over 200,000 displaced.”

“Numerous reports, including reports of official bodies of the government of India, have documented the role of Modi’s state government in the planning and execution of the violence, and the failure to hold perpetrators accountable,” it said. The USCIRF also pointed out that following the riots in 2002, India’s National Human Rights Commission had issued a report that “pointed to the role of Modi’s government in the systematic murder of Muslims and the calculated destruction of Muslim homes and businesses.”

“In 2003,” it added, “the Indian Central government found corruption and anti-Muslim bias to be so pervasive in the Gujarat judiciary that riot cases were shifted for trial to the neighboring state of Maharastra.”

The UK government has taken a similar approach, without denying Modi a visit visa. Jeff Wilson, a spokesman for the British High Commission in New Delhi told the Times of India, “We have a working policy to have no contact with the Gujarat state government. It is because of our concerns over what happened in Gujarat.” http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UK-reads-the-riot-act-to-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/1058718.cms

Modi’s Hitler Fetish

Modi is a self-styled disciple of Adolph Hitler. He has often expressed his admiration for Hitler and even members of his own party sometimes refer to him as the Hitler of India. In Gujarat, Adolph Hitler is glorified in higher secondary school textbooks. Modi and the state of Gujarat’s growing admiration for Hitler has even spooked Israel. Former Israeli Councilor General David Zohar Zonshine has made significant efforts to rectify the matter, including holding exhibitions to educate Modi’s followers about the holocaust. But textbooks printed before Israeli protests are still being used in schools.

While a Class VIII student is taught ‘negative aspects’ of Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement, the Class X social studies textbook has chapters on ‘Hitler, the Supremo’ and ‘Internal Achievements of Nazism’. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-Modis-Gujarat-Hitler-is-a-textbook-hero/articleshow/868469.cms)

Canada’s Response

The Liberals echoed US caution on Modi, and kept their distance after the Gujarat Riots. The Stephen Harper regime, on the other hand, has no such concerns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dnZMSqTQcw&feature=youtube_gdata). This has likely to do with both the growing influence and size of the Gujarati community in Toronto, as well as the efforts of Narendra Modi admirers in Canada, such as the Canada India Foundation.

In 2008, Modi was rumoured to be coming to Toronto, but ended up addressing the Canadians Friends of Gujarat through video conference. The event was organized by the Canada India Foundation at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, and attended by Ontario Minister Harinder Takhar. http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/ajit_jain/2008/09/24/6858851-sun.html

Several South Asian groups expressed concerns about his visit, including Radical Desis, Taraksheel Sabha and The Indo-Canadian Workers’ Association. They also accused the CIF of insulting the victims of the Gujarat riots by honouring Modi (http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c441c9545af011c964ac52a00f0_Strange_Bedfellows.do.html).

The CIF, which claims to be a non-partisan, non-political organization is a known fan of Modi. Its officers went to India to meet Modi in 2008 (http://www.canadaindia.org/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,72/catid,10/). The CIF has also been active in meeting members of the Canadian government – its website proudly highlights meetings with Harper, his ministers and Michael Ignatieff (http://www.canadaindia.org/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,72/). While there is nothing wrong with organizations lobbying their government, surely this government, which has blackballed critics of Israel, needs to tell us why it is meeting with those who admire someone associated with mass murder.

Most disturbingly, CIF’s links to Modi may be driven by reasons other than the promotion of trade. At least one of the people involved with the CIF has a history of anti Muslim bigotry.

At the time of the Toronto event, the convener of CIF, and its National Policy Director was Naresh Raghubeer.

Raghubeer is the former Exec Director of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies and known for his racist views. His views on Islam and Muslims include – “Islam and the terrorism it promotes must be religated (sic) to the ash bin of history, much like what we had to do with National Socialism in Europe in the last century.” http://ccdwatch.blogspot.com/

Raghubeer isn’t the only CCD Exec who harbours racist views on Muslims. Others have had similar outbursts, including its President, Alastair Gordon : “Just by looking around the world, who could be blamed for concluding that Islam is a savage, barbaric, primitive, cruel, despotic religion …”

The CCD was one of the organisations lobbying for the opening of Canada’s trade office in Gujarat.

The Harper governments embracing of anti Muslim bigots is not new. Stockwell Day, the same Minister who stood with Narendra Modi also attended the screening of an anti Muslim movie called “Obsession” (http://www.mpjsask.org/files/hatefilm.pdf). This is the same movie that was distributed by the bigots at Clarion Fund during the US Presidential Elections (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389×4119828 ).

Most recently, the Harper government has appointed Gerald Latulippe, a known anti-Muslim bigot as president of Rights and Democracy. John Baglow, a former Executive VP of PSAC, gets it right when he says “Gérard Latulippe, the incoming president of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, turns out to possess the appropriate anti-Muslim credentials to pass muster with the Harper government. He should fit in well. (http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/02/24/399960.aspx#ixzz0gx6UbmBh)

Unlike the US, where Modi was opposed by an organised and dedicated movement, none exists in Canada. Perhaps its time to create one. Write to Harper and your MP (Tory, Liberal, NDP all) – and ask them why Canada is appeasing someone connected to mass murder. Close our trade office in Ahmedabad. Trade with India, as with other countries, is good for Canada – open another trade office in Delhi or Mumbai. Why reward someone for sustained bigotry and genocide ?

 “The bottom line is this: the U.S. government had sufficient information to have uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the Christmas Day attack, but our intelligence community failed to connect those dots – President Barack Obama, January 2010.”

 I am a frequent flyer – I log about 150,000 miles of air travel a year. While it doesn’t compare with George Clooneys’ character in “Up in the Air”, its enough to keep me in airplanes and airports for an absurd amount of time.  Airline security is naturally, not an academic issue for me – it’s an ever present part of my work routine.

President Obama’s admission that “things that were available, bits of information that were available, patterns of behaviour that were available, were not acted on” and that the intelligence community had enough information to prevent the attempted attack but “failed to connect the dots” speaks volumes about the disconnect between the events of last Christmas, and the implementation of racial profiling this week.

Mr. Obama told us on December 29 last year that “The warning signs would have triggered red flags, and the suspect would have never been allowed to board that plane for America.”

Its becoming clear that the failure to identify Mr. Abdulmutallab for additional screening was not due to an absence of racial profiling, but a failure of security agencies to utilise key behavioural information. Those involved in aviation security know that purchasing last minute tickets with cash and going on lengthy trips with no carry on aren’t guarantees of malicious intent, but they are certainly strong signals for further scrutiny. What makes this particular failure of intelligence worse, is that Mr. Abdulmutallabs own father had alerted the US government of his sons extremist tendencies and that he was already on a US government watchlist for extremists.

That is why the US governments decision to increase scrutiny on all travellers from 14 mainly Muslim nations is an exercise in punishing the innocent. Muslim travellers are being asked to pay the price for the incompetence of US security agencies. A situation that called for a review of intelligence and information sharing practices has produced a knee jerk reaction designed to cater to the lowest common denominator, to satisfy our base needs for real time blame storming, rather than fixing the actual problem.

We often hear advocates of racial profiling questioning the sanity of grandmas from Sudbury having to endure security checks at the airport. None of them have yet to explain how patting down grandmas from Cairo or Lagos is somehow a sensible move. The businessman from Riyadh travelling to meet suppliers in the US, or the family returning from visiting relatives in Karachi are not threats to US aviation. Yet these are the people now being punished. The actions of a single Nigerian now warrants treating  151 million Nigerians and 1.5 billion Muslims as suspected criminals.

No wonder racial profiling is called the lazy method of law enforcement. Why do honest police work when you can stop all black motorists ? Outside of being a corrosive, bridge burning exercise, racial profiling has also been consistently identified as being ineffective in practice. Former Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff contends that racial profiling is misguided and “not terribly effective”. James Judd, the former head of CSIS called racial profiling “fundamentally stupid”.  The events of the last 10 years have told us one thing – the terrorists do not follow simple linear thinking. Mr. Abdulmutallab did not use a shoe bomb or box cutters. Identifying 14 nationalities for additional scrutiny only means they’ll avoid using these passports in the future.

Racial profiling would not have caught Richard Reid, an Anglo-Jamaican who tried to blow up a plane in 2002. It would not have caught Anne-Marie Murphy, a British woman whose Jordanian boyfriend tried to blow up an El Al flight in 1986 by putting a bomb in her luggage. Anne-Marie was intercepted before she got on the plane at Heathrow, by an El Al employee who asked questions and observed behavior.

As most frequent flyer’s will tell you, underpaid and overworked airport security staff are very often seen sitting in front of baggage x-ray terminals chatting away while images move across their screens.  Newark airport was recently shut down because a man went through into the secure area undetected, when the TSA officer in-charge stepped away from his station. Incidents of passengers accidentally bringing guns into planes are mercifully rare, but do occur. Airport staff from Las Vegas and other airports successfully steal millions of dollars worth of goods from passenger baggage. And yet we go through the rituals of taking our shoes and belts off, and carrying our tiny shaving gels in little plastic bags.

Like all good cops know, real security does not come through technology alone, or stopping people of a certain colour on the roads. It comes from human intelligence and leg work. Exactly what failed in this instance – and exactly what needs fixing.

Coren writes :

voted into the constitution by a referendum in which a clear majority of the people supported the ban. It’s an intensely democratic measure that took place in arguably the most democratic nation in the world,

Apparently, when white people vote for neo-Nazi proposals its democracy, but when Muslims vote for violent orgs like Hamas, its a sign of immaturity.

Coren repeats an argument made by others as  well on the absence of religious rights in Saudi Arabia, and the mistreatment of Christians in several Muslims countries.  All correct, and something we need to speak up about, but irrelevant to the question at hand.

Coren, Barbara and Jonathan Kay et al cannot get themselves to simply state how wrong this vote is, and the fact that tolerance is not based on reciprocal behaviour - and condemn the neo Nazis behind it. instead they issue apologias for them. sad.

http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2156737

Breaking the silence

National Post  Published: Thursday, October 29, 2009

Re: Let’s Stop Greeting Hate With Silence, Tarek Fatah, Oct. 28.

Tarek Fatah claims that many targeted non-Muslims are too fearful to act against this hateful Muslim imam.

Not all of us fit this timid description. The Jewish Defence League of Canada and the Canadian Hindu Advocacy, which is the largest Hindu lobby in Canada, will be staging community town halls and pickets in front of the Abu Huraira Centre in the next few weeks.

This is not a first for our organizations. Two years ago, we held a well-received town hall meeting in Newmarket, Ont., to oppose construction of a mosque led by a radical imam.

We expect Mr Fatah and others who claim to oppose Muslim extremism to join and support us fully.

Ron Banerjee, director, Canadian Hindu Advocacy; Meir Weinstein, national director, Jewish Defence League of Canada.

if you didnt know, the Viet Cong was involved in several massacres including :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_at_Hu%E1%BA%BF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dak_Son_Massacre

and of course widespread torture and terrorism.

below is an excerpt from the MCC statement :

The MCC president also criticized the leadership of the Left that treats Islamists with tender gloves and feeds their addiction to self-imposed victimhood. “Jihadi terrorists are not some progressive national liberation movement such as the ANC or the Viet Cong that deserve the backing of the Left,” said Raza. “On the contrary Islamists represent a reactionary and fascist force whose victims are mostly progressive Muslims, women’s rights workers and the most marginalized in society,” he added.

-30 –

-For more information, please call Sohail Raza

 On Sunday the entire Pakistani nation celebrated the victory of its cricket team at the ICC World Twenty20 Cup. Most commentators had pretty much declared the team a non –contender after a disastorous start, while recognising its potential. But towards the end, as one Cricinfo editor put it, the team displayed a performance that was “clinical, professional and un-Pakistani” to beat Sri Lanka in the final.

On Monday, President Zardari, in a Mughal Emperor like move, announced cash awards of 1,000,000 Rupees (about Cdn $14,000) each to team captain Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi (the man of the match for both the semi and the final) and 500,000 Rupees each to the rest of the team. The sum may not mean much when converted into Canadian dollars, but in Pakisan, where the average annual income is about Cdn $650, it’s more than what many will earn in their entire lifetime.

To put this into perspective, this is a nation where there are approximately 2 million internally displaced people (internal refugees) living in desperate conditions following the Pakistani Army’s offensive in the northern areas of the country. This the same Zardari who has been criss crossing the world, cap in hand, asking for aid. Most recently, in Europe last week. Apparently there is enough to dole out to batsmen and bowlers, but not for refugees.

Zardari isn t the first Pakistani leader to treat the nation’s Treasury as a personal slush fund. Everyone before him has done the same thing – Zia ul Haq, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf. But no one has rewarded millionaire sportsmen while 2 million Pakistani refugees have little shelter or food.

The players played well – if anyone should be rewarding them, it should be private businesses through the usual sponsorship deals. Not the government of a near bankrupt nation.

The best thing the players could do now is to donate that public money to help the refugees in Swat. That would be a move truly worthy of champions.

BTW, there is a Swat Relief event in Mississauga going on next weekend. Details below :

Join ReliefWorks and the Edhi Foundation to raise funds and  awareness. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Religion itself is sincere concern.” Express your concern, and please join us:

Speaker:

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Featuring performances by:
Halal Meat, Waleed Hilal, & Nader Khan

Also featuring:

The ManiacMuslim: Hamza Moin

The Goal:    To raise $60,000 for Swat Relief

The Date:      Saturday June 27th 2009

The Time:     5:30 pm 

The Venue:   Pearl Banquet Hall
                     1638 Aimco Blvd, Mississauga Ontario

Tickets:        $35 ($45 at the door)

Proceeds are for Swat Valley Relief through Edhi Foundation  (www.edhifoundation.com)

The first case refers to Omar Khadr – a widely publicised case, and one that has many Muslim and non-Muslim organisations actively involved in petitioning for his release. The second refers to Mohamed Kohail – where the Muslim community has adapted a shamefully uniform code of silence.

Last week a Saudi court upheld a death sentence for 23 year old Mohamed Kohail. Mohamed has been judged guilty in a Saudi court for the murder of a 19 year old Syrian boy, Munzer Hiraki, who died in a schoolyard brawl in January 2007. His brother, 17 year old Sultan, has been sentenced to 200 lashes and one year in prison for the same brawl (he was originally sentenced to death as well, but this was subsequently overturned).

In January 2007, Mohamed and Sultan were involved in a fight that broke out after a girl’s male cousin accused Sultan of insulting her. Muhamed, Sultan and their friends got into a fight with between 12 and 14 (depending on which side of the story) of the girls relatives, some of whom were armed with knives, clubs and chains (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/02/10/saudi-beheading.html).  According to the victim’s cousins, Sultan, Mohamed and another boy grouped on Munzer and beat him to death. There is no footage on this event. However there is a clear film that shows the victim, Munzer, kicking Mohamed in the head (http://www.amnesty.ca/blog_post2.php?id=523). There is also conflicting reports of how Munzer died. Although the prosecution claimed that he had been beaten to death, medical evidence did not support this. The Kohails argued that Munzer died when he was caught under a collapsing stone wall, and that he had a heart condition. Munzers family denies this.

Differences in how the families and friends of the unfortunate victim, and those of the alleged perpetrators, view the same events, is not uncommon. It’s something for the courts, and not the point here.

What should happen is that these versions of the truth need to be argued in an open, transparent and fair judicial process. What happened in Saudi Arabia during the trial of the Kohails was far from it.

Firstly, the 2 brothers and their friend were held incommunicado for over a month and half, and tortured. The trial itself took place over 9 sessions, each about 10 minutes long. The Kohail’s lawyer was allowed to attend only the last 2 sessions (or 5 minutes of it, based on the various reports), and was not allowed to challenge the evidence being presented against his clients  . The court then refused to admit witnesses the Kohails brought forward, and who could have helped in the case. 90 minutes for a murder trial ?

Torture, secret trials, inability to challenge prosecution evidence – aren’t these exactly the sort of things Muslim groups get riled over when they are practised by the Canadian and American governments ? Aren’t these exactly the things we protested and campaigned against during the Arar/Almalki/Noureddin hearings and the security certificate issue ? Those are also the reasons why we oppose the kangaroo courts in Guantanamo and whats happening to Khadr and others there.

Amnesty International launched a campaign for the Kohails. But so far, no major Muslim group has signed up to help, nor spoken up for them. Forget repatriation to Canada, we haven’t even asked for a fair trial.

In February 2009, over 185 Muslim groups accused (with some justification, given Harper and Jason Kenney’s actions) Stephen Harper of anti-Muslim bias for not being more aggressive in bringing Omar Khadr home. The same 185 haven’t said a thing about Kohail or the Saudis. So what does that make them ?

Why does Saudi Arabia get a “get out of torture and unfair trials free” card from Muslim groups ?

First, separate out the Saudi rulers from Makkah and Madinah. Just because they are ruling over 2 cities that are extremely near and dear to our hearts, it doesn’t give them any special powers, wisdom or inherent fairness – nor should it stop us from criticising them. Neither the Saudi justice system, nor their decision making is automatically “Islamic” by virtue of them advertising it as so. Obviously what we’re talking about here is fair criticism, not the sort of Muslim bashing exercises masquerading as “criticism” frequently seen in places like the National Post.

There are numerous ayahs in the Quran that speak of justice – and standing up for justice.  O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: For Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do. ( Surah 4:135)

This is not an obscure verse – it’s recited quite frequently by Imams and others to showcase the high value of standing up for justice – to the point where you would bear witness against yourself and your own parents. So we are ready to bear witness against our parents, but we draw the line at the Saudi rulers ? There is something very wrong with that.

If Imams and advocacy groups have some fear of being criticised for pointing out injustices in Saudi Arabia (“what will our people say”, or “we can’t anger our support base”), get over it. Muslims are more mature than that. There are plenty of Indo Pak immigrants in Canada who can tell you stories of racism, oppression and injustice in Saudi (and everywhere else – that’s why a lot of them are here).  Criticising the American and Canadian governments for dubious judicial processes, but not the Saudis, is hypocrisy.

Standing up for basic things like freedom from torture, ability to defend yourself fairly in a court of law, and freedom of worship should not be a difficult decision – whether in Canada, US or Saudi Arabia.

So what will it be – Fear Allah or Fear the House of Saud ?

This letter on censorship appears in a Canwest owned newspaper – the same Canwest people who are threatening freedom of speech by suing some social activists for producing a spoof of the Vancouver Sun (see seriously free speech website for details). The same Canwest that shows the spoof filled Saturday Night Live. If you happen to be unfortunate enough to rely on the National post or other Canwest papers, you probably dont know about this lawsuit, since they dont talk about it. editing anyone ?

Of course, Canwest probably doesnt need to censor – its writers like Barbara Kay, Jonathan Kay etc., who all screamed loudly and vicously at Muslims over the Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant affairs are all smart enough not to use big words like “Mordechai Briemberg”, “SLAPP lawsuit” and “Canwest is threatening freedom of speech” in their columns. More so, Canwest has also managed to house train its “moderate” Muslims like Tarek Fatah, Salim Mansur, Farzana Hassan amd Raheel Raza to not mention those same big words. These are of course, people who were trotted out to criticise CIC and other Muslims on free speech and satire.

As if we didnt have enough irony on freedom of speech already, Tarek Fatah is censoring all questions on the Canwest lawsuit on a public discussion group. The Toronto Peace Action Coalition, a yahoo group formed after 9/11, was a place for open discussions unil tarek fatah was made moderator. Tarek immediately appointed himself Chief Martial Law Administrator – first he ignored all questions on his hypocrisy over the Mordechai Briemberg issue .. then he just started censoring all posts on it. The same Tarek who lectures Muslims on freedom of speech, doesnt have the honesty or integrity to stand up for Mordechai Briemberg – but will censor discussion on the Canwest lawsuit.

shameful.

On Monday September 8^th, The New York Times reported on the imposition of restrictions on Chinese Muslims during Ramadan. Among the measures announced were:

-         banning teachers and students from observing Ramadan (fasting/praying)

-         prohibiting retired government officials from entering mosques

-         requiring men to shave off beards

-         banning women from wearing the hijab

-         banning restaurants from closing during Ramadan

-         Communist Party members, civil servants and retired officials cannot fast, enter mosques or take part in any religious activities during the month.

That the Chinese government is putting in place onerous conditions on Muslims, and persecuting/harassing them is not a surprise. This has been going on for many years. Uyghurs in East Turkestan and Xinjiang face oppression on a daily basis including imprisonment, forced relocation, job discrimination and murder. Amnesty International’s report on China for 2008 states “Uighur individuals were the only known group in China to be sentenced to death and executed for political crimes, such as “separatist activities”. The Chinese government even destroyed a mosque that refused to put up an Olympics sign. More than 5000 Muslims in China have been murdered by the government. As with Tibet, China relocates millions of ethnic Han Chinese into Xinjiang and other Muslim areas, and suppresses local identity, culture and language.

The Muslims aren’t the only ethnic or religious minority facing state sponsored persecution in China. The case of the Tibetans and Chinese Christians are just as bad.

What is surprising is the sound of absolute silence from the rest of the Muslim world. No official word from the Saudis or Pakistanis or Iranians. No demonstrations, no condemnations from Muslims organizations – Islamist or otherwise. The Jamaat-e-Islami website in Pakistan doesn’t even carry the story. No Muslim nation made an issue out of the mosque demolition before the Olympics. The OIC website has statements on all sorts of issues, but nothing on the Chinese government. North American and European Muslim organizations, who regularly issue statements of concern and condemnation over human rights in Kashmir, Iraq and Palestine, have had nothing to say to support their brothers in China. The Pakistani’s (and I am one), who can usually be relied upon to hit the streets and destroy public property to defend Islam, have been uncharacteristically non-chalant. Its as if nothing happened – Chinese Muslims don’t exist.

But they do. Since 1998, the Pakistani government has even sent back Uyghurs fleeing Chinese persecution (Xinjiang, Chinas Muslim Borderland S. Frederick Starr, 2004). It did so with 13 Uyghur students who were executed upon their return to China. The Central Asian Republics do the same. That’s where a Canadian, Huseyincan Celil was kidnapped and handed over to the Chinese. Imam Celil is currently imprisoned in China. In the Arab world, no Uyghur organizations are allowed, despite the fact that there are about 40,000 refugees from East Turkestan in Saudi Arabia.

What’s wrong with this picture ?

This doesn’t happen when the US, Israel or Europe are involved.

As has happened with the cases of Geert Wilders documentary, French headscarf ban, Danish cartoons etc etc., statements of condemnations pour in from governments, organizations and legislative assemblies. Some unfortunately have resorted to violence. But in either case, Muslims have reacted both officially and as individuals.

And that’s why the silence over the brutal oppression of Chinese Muslims is even more shameful. Chinese Muslims have become “the ignored” in our community. We have demonstrations over books, but have nothing to say over the torture of Muslims in Xinjiang. Uyghur leaders seldom feature on the Muslim conference circuit. Prayers are said for mujahideen in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir, Palestine and Chechnya, but the word “Cheen” is seldom heard in that sentence. Muslims who walk around with bar code data to identify Danish made products are quite happy buying all sorts of Chinese made goods in markets around the world. Why boycott Danish made butter and buy goods made by Chinese government owned factories ?

This cannot be right.

We cannot condemn US foreign policy but remain silent on Chinese oppression. If we care about Muslims instead of just having something against the US/Europe, we can’t remain silent any longer. The Uyghurs deserve better treatment than this, both from the Chinese government and their fellow Muslims.

So here are my suggestions:

1. Especially in Ramadan, pray for your brothers and sisters in China. May Allah make it easier for them and remove the oppression from their lives.
2. Educate yourself. There are plenty of websites that will give you the Uyghur story, like:http://www.uyghurcanadian.org/En/home.asp ,http://www.uyghuramerican.org/, http://www.uyghurcongress.org/En/home.asp
3. If you are involved with conferences, invite a rep from the Uyghur community. Their story must be heard. See websites above for contacts.
4. Ask organizations and Muslim governments to speak up for Chinese Muslims. They need to stop the hypocrisy.
5. Write to the Chinese Embassies and tell them to ask their government to stop the oppression of Chinese Muslims and other ethnic minorities. The address, fax number and email for the Chinese Ambassador to Canada is below. Ambassador: Mr. Lan Lijun,

AP.O.BOX 8935 NEW TERMINAL, ALTA VISTA, OTTAWA, CANADA
Tel: 1-613-7893434
Fax: 1-613-7891911

Email: chinaemb_ca@mfa.gov.cn