HAMILTON Downtown Mosque leaders are saying they are the victims of a hate crime after two copies of a cartoon depicting a caveman dropping a Quran into an open fire were taped to the women’s prayer entrance.

The cartoons, which include the words “primitive man discovers fire,” were found duct-taped to the doors of 96 Wilson St., on Sunday.

The image, an editorial cartoon, was originally published in the Toronto Star in September 2010 as a critique of Florida Pastor Terry Jones’ “International Burn a Quran Day.”

“It was an attack on Pastor Terry Jones, calling him a primitive man,” Toronto Star spokesperson Bob Hepburn said Tuesday, adding that it was in no way an attack on Islam.

At the time of publication, the Star did not receive any formal complaints, Hepburn said.

It’s not the original intent, but rather the intention of the culprit that has Imam Sayed Tora concerned. “If a person wants to show support for the Muslim community, there are many other ways to do it,” he said.

Hamilton police spokesperson Catherine Martin said the hate crime unit is investigating whether the incident constitutes a hate crime (see sidebar) and are asking anyone with information to come forward.

The cartoons were discovered by the mosque’s board president, Wahed Al-Jabry, around 4 p.m. as the community prepared for a fast-breaking meal to celebrate the ninth day of Muharram – the first month in the Islamic calendar. Another member found plants around the mosque had been uprooted.

Tora said the board gathered to discuss the incident, before deciding to report it to police Monday. The images and surveillance footage was handed over.

The recording shows a dark, four-door car pull up in the mosque’s east parking lot around 3:45 p.m.. The driver remains in the car, while the passenger – a bald, white man – jumps out and carries what looks to be the two pieces of paper already taped together towards the mosque.

The community is feeling stressed and fearful, Tora said, adding that his own nine-year-old daughter asked him whether the mosque will be attacked.

The mosque cancelled children’s classes and the homework club Monday and Tuesday. After being promised increased police patrol, he said classes may resume soon.

It’s “reasonable to assume” that the perpetrator was not posting the cartoon to support the Muslim community, but rather to support the ideas of Pastor Terry Jones, said Hussein Hamdani, spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Greater Hamilton, of which the Downtown Mosque is a member.

He said the events are particularly disturbing since the mosque just held a well-attended open house.

Most hate crimes against Muslims go unreported, Hamdani said. That’s why it was important for the community to speak out.

IN a Program to help at least one needy patient from third world (where treatment of that particular disease is not possible), once in a year for the treatment in any hospital in Canada, North American Muslim Federation (NAMF) has decided this year to help Ehsan Muhammad, a child from Karachi Pakistan. Ehsan Muhammad’s treatment at the hospital for Sick Children in Toronto is free, however all other expenses during stay including travelling has to be covered by the patient. NAMF is continuously appealing the community to support in this endeavor and donate to cover all the expenses of Ehsan and his mother. Eshan Muhammad has already arrived now from Karachi Pakistan.  He and his mother are currently adjusting to their new environment and preparing for Eshan’s upcoming operation.  Eshan’s surgery will take place on November 30, 2011 at the Hospital for Sick Children. But the battle has just begun. Eshan’s family has come to Canada with almost nothing, and will only be able to return home when Eshan is given the green light by his Doctor. This could take weeks or months, depending on how fast Eshan recovers. The NAMF has worked tirelessly to ensure that Eshan is granted the opportunity he needs in order to save his life and urges the community to pray for and help this family in their time of need. Eshan and his mother will be always thankful for your kindness and generosity.

Get well cards, monetary donations, or gift certificates can be dropped off at: 4140 Finch Ave East, Toronto, ON M1S  3T9, Tel. 416.229.1969, Contact Person: Mr. Farooq M. Khan, Executive Director , North American Muslim Foundation , 647.405.8581.

NAMF charity number is 11905 8980 RR0001.

TO pray, or not to pray? That seems to be the question regarding Friday prayer accommodations for Muslim staff and students within some TDSB schools. While there has been ample support, it has also been met by strong opposition from hate and fear mongering groups like Canadian Hindu Advocacy, the Jewish Defence League and the Muslim Canadian Congress. Veiling their Islamophobic agenda as a “violation” of the Ontario Education Act, they succeeded in spreading xenophobia towards Canada ’s minority Muslim population. Fortunately, their views were rejected by the TDSB’s Director of Education, Dr. Chris Spence, when he rightly concluded that “the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms supersedes the Education Act.”¹ Regardless, as a Muslim teacher within the TDSB, I would like to discuss how this issue, like many others, has been exploited by special interest groups to fuel the growing epidemic of Islamophobia in the West.

It should come as no surprise that journalistic integrity is in short supply globally. Mainstream media outlets, right-wing oriented in particular, seem to be more interested in soliciting a climate of fear and hysteria than engaging in objective journalism. Through blatant misinformation, “expert” opinions and sensationalization, issues are often being tailored to suit nefarious agendas. This is especially true when issues pertaining to Islam and Muslims are addressed. A common tactic employed is the portrayal of fringe groups as legitimate voices of dissent, and the overlooking of existing concessions they sympathize with. In this case, the opposition was presented as “supporters of secular values,” whereas Muslims were portrayed as “others seeking special treatment.” Had these media outlets done their job, the general public would have seen the disingenuous nature of the arguments proposed, and the deliberate targeting of mainstream Muslims. Hence, I would like to take a moment to individually examine each of these groups.

Canadian Hindu Advocacy (CHA) - http://www.canhindu.com/

The CHA is a Hindu fundamentalist group that is especially known for its anti-Muslim and Sikh rhetoric. On their website they “praise”² the 1984 military actions of the Indian army against Sikhs, including the Golden Temple massacre that killed 400-800 civilians. This operation was condemned and apologized for by Sonia Gandhi, the president of India ’s largest political party. The CHA is also known for its propagandist statements like the “abuse of females is rare among Hindus”³ in India . Apparently nobody has informed them of India ’s female trafficking and infanticide epidemic. Even more interesting is their rejection of the MCC’s “moderate Islam,” but discovery of common grounds in spreading intolerance of mainstream Muslims. This was even noticed by a recent Globe and Mail article titled: “School prayer debate creates unlikely allies.”⁴

Jewish Defence League (JDL) - http://www.jdl.org/

The JDL is “a violent extremist Jewish organization”⁵ according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). It was founded by a fanatical Rabbi whose followers have engaged in numerous terrorist attacks in the US and abroad. The most famous of which was the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinian Muslims in the West Bank while they prayed in a mosque. It truly is a wonder how the JDL is even allowed to operate in Canada .

Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) - http://www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/

Masquerading as “moderate Muslims,” the MCC rarely stands up for Muslim rights and demonizes mainstream Islam whenever it suits them. Even moderate Christians and Jews recognize the religious significance of Saturday night and Sunday morning congregational prayers. Furthermore, MCC founder Tarek Fatah stated that “Islam does not make (Friday prayers) compulsory,”⁶ and when asked if specific Friday prayer times were Islamic, MCC board member Raheel Raza claimed that “It is not under Islam, it is under the Wahabi/Salafi ideology which we as moderate Muslims have been fighting for the last 20 years.”⁷ Not only does the MCC demonstrate an incredible level of ignorance regarding the faith they claim to represent, and follow, but they waste no time in spreading fear against a segment of the Muslim Canadian population. Perhaps the MCC should read the following verses from the Qur’an before commenting on this issue:

O you who have believed, when call for the prayer is called on the day of Friday, then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew. [62:9]

And when you have completed the prayer, remember Allah standing, sitting, or [lying] on your sides. But when you become secure, re-establish prayer. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times. [4:103]

It should also be noted that the MCC is the only group “contemplating legal action”⁸ against the TDSB. In reality, the MCC is a branch of liberal Islam which sculpts Islam to suit its needs - often for the personal gain of its key members.

Now that we know who we are dealing with, here are some of the main “concerns” raised by the above trio:

Segregation:

The separation of boys and girls during prayer is considered to be the promotion of “sexism” in a publicly funded school system. If that is truly how they feel, principle demands that they first stop the following longstanding traditions in the Canadian education system:

• gender segregated gym classes and sports teams.
• publically funded Catholic schools for only boys and girls.
• an annual boys only talent show at my school.

Special Treatment:

Religious accommodations are not new or unique to the TDSB, and they are most certainly not exclusive to Muslims. My school hosts a “Teens4Christ” club that holds weekly meetings for students interested in exploring their Christian faith. In addition, we have a Chinese Parents Association, and used to have a Tamil Students’ Association, which assists in accommodating the diverse needs of our student body. These programs have never created a divide at my school, or within our educational system. Rather, they have helped create an environment of tolerance, respect and understanding within our students. To state otherwise would require evidence that simply does not exist.

Propagation of religion:

While it is true that the Ontario Education Act prohibits the indoctrination of religion, it does not prohibit non-indoctrinating religious instruction or scriptural readings during opening and closing exercises. At my school we have Christian invocations every year during our Remembrance Day assemblies and during the Christmas holidays through carols- nobody complains! Furthermore, some schools partake in Hanukah, Diwali and Kwanza to honour their Jewish, Hindu and African-American students.

The Lord’s Prayer was often invoked by the opposition as a point of comparison, but failed to realize its indoctrinating nature and imposition on everybody. However, if Christians feel so disenfranchised by this practice, there is nothing preventing them from seeking accommodations if they involved students with parental consent. This is precisely what the Muslim parents and students have done. Personally, I think the Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful supplication and most Muslims have no qualms with it.

Hate speech and discrimination:

The MCC’s president, Farzana Hassan, said “We are concerned that there are some Muslim groups that are not seen as Muslims and may not be invited to pray.”⁹ Meir Weinstein of the JDL said “We worry if they will extend their prayers to include religious ideology.”¹⁰ I have bolded key words to show the type of fear mongering these groups often engage in. At my school we often have various denominations attend prayers - even non-Muslims. Furthermore, students are not left without adult supervision, so why create unfounded hysteria? However, I do agree that local Imams should not conduct prayer services. This is not because I worry about “possible hate speech,” but because youth should be empowered by taking responsibility for their spiritual needs and conducting these prayers themselves. Shaykh Yusuf Badat from the Islamic Foundation of Toronto said “I trained students from Lester Pearson Collegiate near our centre in Scarborough to do that and they’ve been running their own Friday service for years.”¹¹ Hopefully, other Imams will follow Shaykh Yusuf’s lead.

Disruption:

Ron Banerjee of the CHA stated that he was concerned about “disruptions”¹² being caused to all students because of these prayers. The reality is that disruptions are a normal and healthy part of our education system. Whether it be trips, vacations, religious holidays, assemblies, sports, contests, dances, clubs or other school activities, these disruptions help students acquire valuable time management skills. Students are always expected to be responsible for material covered regardless of the nature of their absence. Why is this absence being treated any differently? It is also interesting to note that no media outlet made mention that the Hindu Canadian Alliance (HCA) and the World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) endorsed the TDSB’s decision¹³.

That reality of the matter is that groups like the CHA, JDL and MCC consistently strive to present mainstream Islam and Muslims as a fifth column within Canada. Of course they rarely make their hate blatantly obvious, but disguise it as a “genuine concern" for upholding Canadian values.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is what has made Canada the beautiful nation that it is today. We should all celebrate that our true Canadian values prevailed last week. Furthermore, we must ensure that groups like CHA, JDL and MCC remain on the fringes and are exposed for what they really are - bigots.

Omar Qayum is a volunteer at the North American Muslim Foundation (NAMF ) and a teacher in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

Sources:

1 http://www.tdsb.on.ca/about_us/media_room/Room.asp?show=allNews&view=detailed&self=30364

2 http://www.canhindu.com/praise1984.doc

3 http://www.canhindu.com/kaylies.pdf

4 The Globe and Mail: “School prayer debate creates unlikely allies”, [Friday, July 8, 2011]

5 http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/terror/terrorism-2000-2001

6 The Toronto Star: “Board runs afoul of Education Act with prayer services”, [Friday, July 8, 2011]

7 The John Oakley Show on AM640, [Friday, July 8, 2011]

8 The Toronto Star: “Board runs afoul of Education Act with prayer services”, [Friday, July 8, 2011]

9 The Toronto Sun: “Muslim group wants prayer in public school stopped”, [Tuesday, July 5, 2011]

10 The Toronto Sun: “Muslim group wants prayer in public school stopped”, [Tuesday, July 5, 2011]

11 The Toronto Star: “Board runs afoul of Education Act with prayer services”, [Friday, July 8, 2011]

12 The John Oakley Show on AM640, [Friday, July 6, 2011]

13 CAIR-CAN Press Release, [Wednesday, July 6, 2011]

AHMED

He still has some problem in his left knee; however, he manages to walk from 45 to 75 minutes daily --indoor in winter and outdoor in summer. In 1990’s TTC strike, he was using his own two-wheeler feet and going to office by walking and by spending hours.

Another expedition was a visit of his grandparent’s seventeenth-century-style remote village chota kahadba, Lalpur, Jamnagar in Gujarat, India. There was no four-wheel motor journey. The only way to go from Lalpur to chota kahadba was by oxen-cart from crossing two villages and two rivers, Rapawati and Danader. However, Ahmed Bhai was lucky; he found and rented a cart carried by an expert motorcyclist instead of oxen.

Ahmed Bhai has several unique qualities and features. For example, he set a record of punctuality and consistency by working Bell Canada for 25 years without any day off. He received the Bell Canada perfect attendance award. He had been highly praised by his company for a very rare achievement.

Ahmed Bhai, always an early bird, never had a car in Canada and preferred to use his feet to visit many places even long distances. He travels several miles daily. His food habit is exceptional; he eats a lot of all kinds of fruits. Most of them are Canadian, but some of them are imported.  Bananas, papayas, apples, grapes, pears, berries, cantaloupe, cultured apple (Sita Phal) are a few on his list. He advised to take less salt, less oil, less meat, but more vegetables. Carrots, raddishes, red tomatoes, and green vegetables are part of his diet. In contrast, at a party Ahmed Bhai will take all sweets offered. He is confident with his health and has no medical problem.

Ahmed Bhai has born and raised in Dar es Salaam, the principal commercial city of the United Republic of Tanzania in East Africa. The name Tanzania derives from the names of the two states Tanganyika and Zanzibar that united in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which, later the same year, was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania. Tanzania is probably one of the oldest known inhabited areas on Earth; fossil remains of humans and pre-human hominids have been found dating back over two million years. Travellers and merchants from the Persian Gulf and Western India have visited the East African coast since early in the first millennium AD. Islam was practiced on the Swahili Coast as early as the eighth or ninth century AD. Ahmed Bhai’s grandfather, Ali Mauji, an Ismaili Muslim migrated Tanzania from Porbander, Gujarat, India in nineteen century.

Ahmed Bhai, a sports-loving guy, after completing Cambridge school certificate from Dar es Salaam, began working first in a store and then in Eastern African Airlines (later merged into British Overseas Airways). He also helped his father Hussain Abdulla Mauji, who had a clothing business, and was a commissioned agent.

Ahmed Bhai migrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1973, where his elder brother Gulam Ali had already migrated before him in 1971.  Ahmed Bhai came to visit in 1971 to see his brother who had fallen in snow and had broken his shoulder. Ahmed Bhai revisited in 1972 on a vacation tour with his one of his friends. He brought his sister and parents from Tanzania in one year. In the beginning, for three months, he stayed with his brother who was living in Young and Ossington, and then he moved to Greenwood Av. and Danforth. After getting Canadian citizenship, he voted in all elections. Living in the riding of NDP, Ahmed Bhai always voted for NDP. He moved to Thorncliffe Park in 1985, and the MP seat belonged to Conservative Party at that time. Residing in Thorncliffe Park, he has chosen to vote Liberal except in last two Federal elections --NDP in 1988 and Conservative in 2011.

Ahmed Bhai, an accountant by profession, has never found difficulty in finding a job. In September 1973, he joined Deloitte Haskins, the largest chartered accountant firm at that time. It was situated in Royal Trust Tower at King Street. He left the job in March 1974 and went back to Tanzania in April to bring his parents in Canada. Along with his providing visa sponsorship and air tickets, one more condition was set by the parents.  They insisted that Ahmed Bhai join them in the migration journey.

After returning, Ahmed Bhai started working for Workman Compensation and finally joined Bell Canada in February 1976 and worked for 27 years in different departments of Bell Canada.  Ahmed Bhai retired in 2003 from Bell Canada.

The saddest part of his life is family dispute and divorce. He married in 1975 and separated in 1977 at the wife’s request, and they finally divorced in 1980. His only son is living in London, England. The reason of indifference in family was Ahmed Bhai’s commitment to his parents. Serving and helping his ailing mother and father was his passion and the way to get maximum rewards from God. His wife was not on the same page.

His other sister settled in England. His elder sister in Toronto became a widow in 1983.  His father expired in 1984, and his mother died in 2004.  His brother died in 2009. He and his elder sister (age 76) are living together.

Ahmed Bhai is watching CricWorld on computer for cricket test match score.

Ahmed Bhai is sports-crazy from the very beginning. He played soccer in his youth, and he still watches passionately all the tournaments of cricket, tennis, and soccer. He remembers and calls his friends and acquaintances with famous player names like Bradman, Miandad, Imran Khan, etc. He bought a computer for the sole purpose of watching cricket score info at CricWorld. Ahmed Bhai has no e-mail and has no interest in surfing internet; however, he watches TV and reads Toronto Star for daily news. He keeps himself updated on current affairs and has interest in reading and watching global politics.

Ahmed Bhai changed his lifestyle in 1978. Starting from no interest in religion and prayer, he became so committed to God that he tries to never miss any collective prayer five times daily. He revolves his work around his prayer times. He must leave for Masjid at prayer time no matter if he is sitting in a meeting, attending any event or celebration. He starts his one hour daily jogging journey after offering fajr prayer (the early morning prayer before sunrise) at Masjid Darus Salam.

He feels not much difference in Thorncliffe Park and Toronto in past and present except 81 bus frequency and price hike. 81 bus frequency was 15 minutes at peak times; now it is 10 minutes; and, one could buy groceries for one family for $15 a week at that time.

Ahmed Bhai is starting his daily walk.

After 25 years of continuous service with Bell Canada, he got a heart surgery, angioplasty. When I asked why and how it happened despite your exceptional quality lifestyle and eating habit, he said, “You can’t avoid stress here. There was a time when, after finishing my job, I was visiting daily my ailing mother in one hospital, my sick father in another hospital, my sick brother in third hospital, and dealing with divorce issue at the same time.” Ahmed Bhai remembered those days with grief.  Ahmed Bhai said, “Anger and stress filled your body with poisonous chemicals and extremely harmful for health.” He also said that the food available in the market is not pure. For example, a chicken developed in one week contains poisonous chemical feeds, eggs are the products of those chickens that use wrong feeds, and fruits and vegetables are badly affected by chemical fertilizers and poisonous pesticides produced by corporations whose only mission is to maximise the profits.

Ahmed Bhai told many stories of Tanzania, East Africa, on culture, agriculture, plants, treatments, cures, and herbs. He witnessed the complete treatment of diabetics from an unknown leaf and by an African herbalist. His sister, who is now living with him, had diabetics in early age. They (family) went to Tabora, a village in Tanzania, and met a black man who provided leaves (of one type) and told them to boil the leaves in water and then drink the tea. After one month, she was completely cured. She takes sugar food and enjoys life without any health problem at her age in 70’s. “You will not find anything like this there anymore. Westernization, industrialization, and commercialization destroyed old wisdoms, old methodology of treatments and knowledge of body, soul and mind, and those herbal medicines that were used to work perfectly.”

Ahmed Bhai, approaching 70, is healthy and active.  He is much healthier and more active than many men in their 40’s.

I forgot to say that Ahmed Bhai’s best health secret is charity. He is very generous in helping the needy and feeding the hungry.

(This article was written on April 27, 2011 before May 2 Federal Election)

YES! I agree Stephen Harper has no sympathy for Muslims. The blood of Israelis is the costliest, and the blood of Muslims is the cheapest for him. He behaves more like Israel’s Prime Minister rather than Canada’s Prime Minister. Under his rule, Canada became the closest friend of Zionist and constitutionally racist state Israel, even closer than the USA. His office was an occupied territory of Canadian Zionists. His eyes can’t see the dead bodies of Palestinian children, elders, men, and women in Gaza. He is a one-eyed person devoted to see and serve the terrorist state of Israel. His government ministers humiliated several Canadian Muslim leaders, several times. His Immigration minister banned several Islamic scholars to enter Canada. He is more interested in inviting immigrants on work permits than granting immigration status to family members, mainly parents and grandparents. Harper regime was always eager and ready to join USA and NATO to invade and bomb the countries endangering the life of Canadian soldiers and local civilians and all in the name of “humanitarian service.”  Despite Supreme Court orders, Harper regime refused to bring Canadian Omar Khadr who, as a child, was detained in Afghanistan and brought to Guantanamo Bay, a detention centre of  the US military. The charge sheet against Harper is long, and I agree with every point against him. I watched Al-Jazeera reporting on Harper regime’s Israel connection and agree on every word that has been quoted.

Now let us see the role of Liberals on the same issues on which we are criticizing Harper Tories. Did we forget all those atrocities towards Canadian Muslims, just after 9/11, that was perpetrated by Paul Martin’s Liberals?  Do we have too short of a memory?  Did we  forget how many Canadian Muslims detained without any charge? Did we not remembered how close his regime was with Israel? Did we forgot that Martin’s liberal regime brought Canada into helping the US aggression into Afghanistan which resulted in an undetermined number of deaths of Afghan civilians (an estimated 30,000 to 100,000) and hundreds of deaths and injuries of Canadian soldiers. Did we  forgot that it was Martin's  Liberals era when Omar Khadr, a Canadian child detainee case came into lime light? All the western countries asked US and brought back all their citizen detainees from Guantanamo Bay to start judiciary process in their own countries, but Canada refused to do the same. And do you know the opinion of current Liberal leader Igniteff in all those issues, which shows our concern?  Ignatieff repeatedly and one-sidedly defended Israel’s aggression and bombing on Gaza citizens.  Check CPJME (Canadian for Peace & Justice Report on Middle East).

Liberal party brought forth a vote of non-confidence on March 25, 2011, which passed 156 to 145, marking the first time a Canadian government fell on contempt of Parliament charge. But the Liberal Party never showed such urgency and always coordinated with Harper on all the issues of serious concern. Harper prorogued the Parliament twice. Liberals did nothing. Questions surrounding the Afghan detainee affair came in 2009, when allegations arose that Canadian soldiers were handing over prisoners in Afghanistan who were later tortured. The House of Commons demanded that the government turn over all documents relating to prisoner transfer in Afghanistan in their unredacted form. The conservative government refused. The Liberal opposition did nothing (which equaled cooperation). Supreme Court ordered the government to bring Omar Khadr back to Canada.  Conservatives showed contempt; Liberals cooperated.

Is it not a surprise for me that there is no difference between conservatives and liberals on Muslims issues. The surprising thing to note is that the Liberals are doing the same thing despite significant Muslims’ presence in the liberal party. You will hardly find few Muslims in conservative party. Muslims; donation to liberals is significant; however, you will not see any major Muslim donations to conservatives. Muslim political workers spent their sweat, blood and money to please the liberal goddess. Various Muslim leaders, imams and presidents of the Masajid are the gate keepers of the Liberal Party in the community. Many of them are now advocating to vote “strategically” for Liberals against conservatives, despite their own previous stance to support better individual candidate irrespective of party platforms and despite the fact that Liberals are going down to position three (Pollsters report).

Muslim political workers and activists living in Don Valley West are the first-hand and long-time victims of Liberal hypocrisy. Muslim political activists of Don Valley West now argue, “It is easier to deal with your ‘open enemy’ than your hypocrite enemy.” The story of conflict starts from the last provincial election. Muslim activists, under the “leadership” of Abdul Haq Ingar (currently a Liberal employee at Queens Park), supported unanimously Kathleen Wynne against John Tory. Despite the Tory’s several favourable agenda, including government funding to private religious schools, that could benefit those Muslim families who are experiencing behavioral problems from their public school-going children, Muslims unanimously voted Ms. Wynne. Canadian Islamic Congress announced to support John Tory at that time, but their appeal was completely ignored. There was no issue of “lifestyle” of Ms. Wynne, and it was never discussed. She has no complaint of “homophobic” from anyone at that time. Life was smooth for Liberals, and the Muslim neighborhood of Don Valley West was completely occupied by them. They were unchallenged, and the throne of the Liberal empire was well established. After capturing and strengthening her throne, Ms Kathleen Wynne, the “Queen” of Don Valley West, started showing her disliking of “browns” (in Don Valley West, it is often used to refer to Muslims).  “She started racist slur, ‘I don’t like to see too many browns in my riding’” (meaning Liberal riding posts), said an ex liberal party member and insider.

Abdul Ingar feels at home with his political family

Abdul Haq Ingar was preparing to contest mid term 2008 federal election from the Liberal platform. He was asking his friends in Masjid to become Liberal party member by paying $10 and to vote for him for the Liberal party nomination election of Don Valley West. After making a couple hundred members, at last, he asked those members to vote Rob Oliphant, imported from outside the riding, the favorite of Ms. Wynne, having same lifestyle, the first openly gay, same-sex married politician and United Church minister Rob Oliphant. What was the real deal for Mr. Ingar?  The explanation lies on the shoulder of Mr. Ingar. He should tell the community now. Another Muslim Muhammad Ijaz entered into Liberal nomination race. However, Ingar and his Masjid volunteers team was committed to Mr. Oliphant and bringing Muslim members from Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Park neighbourhood to vote for Oliphant. Many of them were men having long beards and women wearing Niqab (veils) coming into flocks to vote for Rob Oliphant.

John Carmichael with his family

Having a previous Liberal elected MP riding for the last several terms, Rob Oliphant had the advantage over Conservative John Carmichael in October 14, 2008 election.  Moreover, the dissident votes of Liberal went to NDP candidate, David Sparrow. That didn’t benefit conservative John Carmichael. Oliphant was declared elected MP of Don Valley West.

Oliphant family: Marco Fiola (Left) and Rob Oliphant, the hubbies of each other

Gradually, several serious issues distanced the local communities from Liberals.  One such issue was the imposition of one’s lifestyle over others and showing disrespect to families and their values. When Kathleen Wynne became the member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament and education minister by defeating John Tory who was the advocate of public funding of religious schools, she tried her best to change the current character of public school on the path of perversion. She prepared a new curriculum for health and physical education, before leaving the ministry to join Ministry of Transport. The new curriculum proposed sex education from grade three, and homosexuality and trans-sexuality (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, intersex, queer) was to be a part of curriculum. Young kids would be taught that you could have two moms and two dads and all kinds of possible sexual perversion and relationship and there is nothing wrong in it; it is normal. Moreover, parents have no right to oppose it. This is a “human right” and “social justice” issue. Do parents of children want the same? Were the parents living in this democratic part of world ever consulted? Ms Wynne says yes.  In session of 2008-2009, I was a school council member, and, in 2009-2010, I was the chair of the School Council of Thorncliffe Park Public School, the largest primary school in Canada. I don’t know that any parent was ever consulted. Even party-member parents close to her denied any such consultation. I don’t know what Ms Wynne means by the term “consultation.” Perhaps she consulted some people other than parents, and perhaps she consulted even some “Muslims” like Mr. Ingar, who is subservient to Liberals and has no children currently in primary or middle school. I know parents of all faiths --Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and no one wants to raise his/her children to be homosexuals or perverts. I know several Jewish families who even abstain from watching TV, and they have nothing to do except praying and reading.  The children of faith-based communities look very similar. Even atheist parents want to see their growing children natural and straight. Ms. Wynne doesn’t live in our world. She aggressively wants to impose on us what she practices.

They say, “They have Charter of Rights.” We ask, “Do we have a right not to vote for you?  They say, “We don’t want to see too many browns in our riding,” and still they are not considered racist. We say, “We don’t want too many gays in all representative positions of our riding,” and they respond that we are “homophobic.”  Do we have any “Charter of Responsibilities” with “Charter of Rights”?

Fortunately, the practicing and culturally sensitive Catholics have a board of Catholic schools with government funding, Jews have their own private schools with their own curriculum and with their own code of ethics. The people of other religious groups, significantly Muslims, have no choice.  A majority of Muslims are living in poverty and having several children; they can’t pay enormous fees for private Islamic schools. Practically, they are forced to send their children to public schools in all conditions. If they speak against Ms. Wynne’s proposed curriculum, they will be accused of violating “human rights” and “social justice.” This is the repressive and authoritarian tendency of Liberal extremists and perverts. They will respect us only when we leave our religion and come out of  our faith or sell our faith. Mr. Tariq Fatah and Mr. Abdul Ingar are most respectable “Muslims” for Liberals. Reason:  they are too mean to serve for cheap.

Last year when practicing Christians were celebrating Good Friday nationwide, the top gay politicians of Toronto, under the leadership of Smitherman, were visiting Masjid Darussalam at the annual inaugural day of “path to piety” program.” They were invited by Abdul Ingar, on behalf of Masjid Darussalam. Mr. Ingar announced and requested that everyone meet these “most honorable” people of Toronto. Mr. Smitherman was the mayoral candidate in the October 2010 Toronto City Election.   Do “non-gay” politicians have the same right to do so?  Ask Mr. Ingar (privately when he was not holding the microphone at the Mimbar of Masjid). And also ask Mr. Rob Ford, new elected mayor of Toronto City to try to visit here and break the ice.

The time has changed now. Despite the Liberal religious leaders appeal for Smitherman, Muslims of our neighbourhood voted for Rob Ford. And despite the full effort of liberal riding, MP, MPP, and mayoral candidate Smitherman's campaign office, liberal’s darling Muhammad Dhanani lost the last city councillor election. Surprisingly Rob Oliphant, the Liberal candidate of the Federal Election 2011, was unable to read the writing on the wall. He is still considering it a soft Liberal riding. He is so confidently arrogant that he started threatening his opponent voters. “Never come to my office,” Oliphant responded to a voter at the door of apartment of 47 Thorncliffe Park Drive, when the voter informed him that he already voted for another candidate, Oliphant’s opponent.  He threatened another Muslim volunteer of a rival candidate by saying, “I never forget the people.”  So what?

(On May 2 election, Conservative John Carmichael defeated Liberal Rob Oliphant by the margin of 639 votes-addition)

FLEMINGDON and Thorncliffe Park Muslim Association (FATMA) announced to endorse John Carmichael as the conservative candidate from Don Valley West. The decision was made after a long meeting with John Carmichael. In this meeting, FATMA executive members and community activists discussed openly all the related international, national, and local issues that concerned to the community.  John Carmichael advised the community to participate in the political process and, instead of supporting exclusively liberal, support other parties and the conservative is the best option for them.  “I will listen to you, and will continue dialogue in every issue our constituents show concern,” he said.  “We share several moral values like family values, and we have a lot of commonality,” he said. On the immigration issue, Mr. Carmichael said that liberals just talk, and we deliver. In 2010, the conservative government welcomed the highest level of legal immigrants in more than 50 years --280,636 permanent residents. This is significantly more than Canada accepted under the previous liberal governments of Trudeau, Chretien, and Martin.

After the long discussion on many issues, FATMA members finally endorsed the conservative candidacy from Don Valley West. Yunus Pandor, president of FATMA, contested last city council election from this ward 26 and has a large support base in the Muslim community, said that it is Muslims’ consensus that we should support the best candidate irrespective of party affiliation. Mr. Pandor said there is least difference on foreign policies between conservatives and liberals; you find liberals in conservatives and conservatives in liberals and even conservatives in NDP, and, therefore, it is important to vote for the best individual. He said that Muslim community would like to see the Canadian society become a hotbed of family values. Our education system should promote family culture and build the character. He said that unfortunately our riding is witnessing liberals’ aggressive imposition of a particular life style, particular type of people, particular culture, and particular education system from our representatives that are widely disliked and controversial. Mr. Pandor said that Mr. Carmichael respects family values, and we have more common points than differences.

Muhammad Amin Jangda, vice president of FATMA and Memon Association, said that the local MP office is fooling us by sending news releases to the community through e-mails. The best criteria to judge an MP is his performance at the floor of Parliament, and, in this respect, our MP’s performance in the community’s serious issues is negligible.

Raees Ahmed, general secretary of FATMA, said that John Carmichael is actively involved in our community, and we get support from him on every occasion. Thorncliffe Neighborhood Office (TNO) got funding of six million dollars for immigrant programs with the help of John Carmichael. He donated $15,000 to a boys’ cricket club, and that was a great help to the youth cricket players. We need a representative who can lead us and be our voice in Ottawa government. He said that we should strive hard to make him successful in the coming election.

Syed Sajjad Hyder, editor of Aafaq, an Urdu language monthly magazine said that the imbalanced foreign policy that is hurting the community is not made by conservatives; it is made by the continuity of previous liberal government.  It was liberal Paul Martin who sent the army into Afghanistan and resulted in the death of 145 Canadian soldiers and thousands of Afghans. Choose any issue like Syrian Muslim Canadian Maher Arrar’s detention and torture in Syria or Canadian Child detainee Omar Khadr in Guantanamo Bay; it was all done in the era of liberal government. The Conservative Harper is following the foreign policy of Liberal Prime Minister of Martin made after 9/11. He said that we should now vote a person, not the party, and our criterion to judge a candidate should be local and based on the local experience.

Community activist, realtor, and vice president of FATMA, Aftab Malik, said that the liberal party is a party of hypocrites and that they are taking our votes for granted without delivering anything. He said that the Muslim community put a lot of resources toward the liberals, and they did nothing for us but also betrayed us. Now things are changing. We supported Rob Ford for Mayor in October city election, and now we are prepared to support conservative candidate John Carmichael.  It is time now that we should open a dialogue with conservatives. He said that John Carmichael is a well respected and trustworthy person. “He is a man of words, and I believe he will listen to our concerns,” he said. “We now need a voice in the government.”

Khalid Baloch, a community activist, chair of Thorncliffe Park Public School, said that liberals always thought that immigrant voters are in their pockets, and that they can manipulate the community voters as they want. They never took our issues seriously. They tried to stop several Muslim potential candidates from liberal. Now, it is time to change. We should enter in all the major Canadian parties to highlight our issues and open the dialogues.

Deputy Secretary FATMA Khalid Syed, community activists Muhammad Sharif, Ayub Sipra, Wajid Iqbal, and a senior member of the community Ahmad Abdullah also attended the meeting and pledged to offer full volunteer support for John Carmichael.

The Conservative Party’s Response on Immigration:

Since forcing an unnecessary and opportunistic election last week, the Ignatieff liberals have been spreading myths about the issue of family class immigration.  Despite these cynical attempts to play loosely with the truth, here are a few key facts about the conservative record on immigration:

- The conservative party believes in the importance of family reunification under Canada's immigration policy.  That's why the government is increasing planning for family class immigrants in 2011 to allow up to 65,000 immigrants into Canada.  In addition, the average number of immigrants admitted under the family class over the last five years of conservative leadership is significantly higher than the six years prior when the liberals were in office.

- In 2010, the conservative government welcomed the highest level of legal immigrants in more than 50 years --280,636 permanent residents. This is significantly more than Canada accepted under the previous liberal governments of Trudeau, Chretien, and Martin.

- This year, the conservative government passed legislation through Parliament to crack down on crooked immigration consultants who exploit prospective immigrants and undermine the integrity of Canada's immigration system. We made major investments of $50 million over two years towards improving Foreign Qualification Recognition in Canada and launched a Foreign Credentials Referral Office to provide key information, advice, and referral services to newcomers and employers.  The conservatives cut in half the crippling $975 head tax imposed by the liberals on new immigrants in the 1990s.

Unlike the Ignatieff liberals who will twist the facts to win a vote, conservatives have been taking real action to welcome more immigrants and help them build a brighter future in Canada.  As part of a strong, national conservative government, John Carmichael will be an effective representative for your interests and values in Parliament.

IT is with great humility and humbleness I would like to inform you that recently I have been appointed as a Chair of Special Olympic Toronto - Community Council.

Special Olympics motto will definitely inspire you to act by wanting to know more about this noble cause,

"Let me Win, But if I cannot Win, Let me be Brave in the Attempt."

I presented a video during my first meeting as a chair.  It has been posted on YouTube by Special Olympics Ontario. Please take a moment to click on the link below (or cut and paste) and if you need more information feel free to contact me.  Please pass on this email and link to your family and friends.

VIDEO

The fundamental difference which sets Special Olympics competitions apart is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate and every athlete is recognized for his or her performance. Competitions are structured so that athletes compete with other athletes of similar ability in equitable divisions.

Similar to other sports organizations, Special Olympics competitions are structured to provide opportunities for increasingly challenging competitions. This means that recreational and competitive athletes will have the opportunity to compete at a community level with the opportunity to advance to Regional, Provincial, National or even World competitions based on selection or qualifying criteria.

When people see the seriousness and sense of purpose evident in each Special Olympics athletic event, a window of understanding opens. In hundreds of competitions a year around the world, people everywhere get the chance to have their eyes opened and their perspectives widened.

Special Olympics provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with special needs.  Those activities give them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skill and friendship.

Waris Malik is the founder of the Hot Soup Day at the Islamic Foundation and Islamic Soccer League volunteer and Muslim Annual Awards ceremony organiser and so many other things he has done in Toronto to make this country as beautiful and Muslim-friendly as possible.

Nayyar Imam, Long Island Muslim Alliance

FIVE CHARGED IN ALLEGED PLOT TO KIDNAP OR KILL TROOPERS, JUDGE -
Casey Grove, Anchorage Daily News, 3/11/11

Five people in the Fairbanks area were arrested Thursday by state and federal law enforcement on charges connected with an alleged plot to kidnap or kill state troopers and a Fairbanks judge, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

Francis "Schaeffer" Cox, Lonnie Vernon, Karen Vernon, Coleman Barney and Michael Anderson are accused of conspiring to commit murder, kidnapping, and arson, as well as weapons misconduct, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence, according to trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters in a written statement late Thursday.

An investigation "revealed extensive plans to kidnap or kill Alaska state troopers and a Fairbanks judge," the statement said. The plans included "extensive surveillance" on the homes of two Fairbanks troopers, the statement said.

"Investigation also revealed that extensive surveillance on troopers in the Fairbanks area had occurred, specifically on the locations of the homes for two Alaska state troopers," the statement said. "Furthermore, Cox et. al. had acquired a large cache of weapons in order to carry out attacks against their targeted victims. Some of the weapons known to be in the cache are prohibited by state or federal law."

Tarek Fateh-The Quitter

IN Urdu, “Tarek” literally means “quitter”.

Interestingly, we saw this definition play in reality on Saturday, January 29, 2011, when Tarek Fatah backed out from a debate with me at the last minute without informing anyone at the venue.

Shamefully, he has still not spoken a word to the organizers about his uninformed absence. All they have to go by is a “press release” by some organization he knows friends in, but one he does not officially represent in any way.

Assuming the press release letter voices Mr. Fatah’s views (the truth of which we may never know) it makes for an engaging read (see attachment).

The clown on the letter by the name of Sohail Raza accuses NAMF of “turn(ing) a debate into a public inquisition”. This is a serious charge. How was this to be a public inquisition, I wonder? And why would it be public? Doesn’t the general public identify with Mr Fatah against the Big, Bad Islamists? Or perhaps, it is the public, not NAMF, which is full of anger toward you, Mr. Fatah, for the propaganda damage you cause them.

And since when did Mr. Fatah tie a “condition” of taking part at NAMF only after he approved of the moderator? Even if true, why did he confirm his attendance by phone two hours before the event? All we know is that he consistently made noise –  Yes –  over many things: the language, the venue, the format, his approval before any video recording, and the choice of moderator.

Hardly a martyr for his cause, he seemed to try every possible way to weasel out of this debate. (We have the entire email correspondence proving this, which we plan to make public soon)

I can go on about the lies of cameras not being allowed at NAMF (a press release to media outlets was sent on the Jan 24, 2011) or of NAMF withdrawing police officers, or of conspiring to “ambush” Tarek Fatah through an “inquisition”, but I wont (All this is extensively covered in an open letter by one organizer of the event).

I only want to express sympathy with those well-meaning, yet naïve folks before whom Tarek Fatah masquerades as some kind of Martin Luther of Islam boldly battling the Islamist boogiemen; folks who believed he would show up to uphold the very principles he keeps saying he fights for.

On his Facebook page, Mr. Fatah wrote:

This Saturday, January 29, I face another Islamic cleric in a public debate. Please do come and see for yourself the danger of allowing Islamism to spread its fascist cancer among the born-in-Canada Muslim youth in our country.

Consider the sympathy he gathers on the same page among some very simple-minded people:

“Tarek, you are a brave man and God is with you and he will protect you from evil”

“Tarek is one of the sane Muslims out there who is willing to smite down the terrorists who plague it”

“I am really horrified at the extent of threat Tarek is facing”

“Tariq. You are a brave man. We are with you be not afraid of these two bit molvis”

“@Tarek – I’m surprised the threat took this long but be well, my friend. Be safe & be blessed by Allah and continue on with your moral courage. The world needs you”

In my honest assessment, Tarek Fatah is inauthentic. He, like many self-styled Islamic reformers these days, wants to cash in on the publicity and martyr-status, but not at the expense of being exposed.

Alas, I truly believed the man, however wrongly guided, carried the potential to serve his community. But with his rude and shameful absence exposing his moral cowardice to face an opponent in debate following a challenge that he threw in November, 2010, and worse, getting others to lie to defend him, that hope has all but disappeared.

Imam Sheharyar Shaikh is the President of North American Muslim Foundation and Imam of Masjid Qurtabah.

DEBATE VIDEO-1

DEBATE VIDEO -2

DEBATE VIDEO -3

DEBATE VIDEO -4

DEBATE VIDEO -5

By JAWED ANWAR

"As for man, when his Lord tests him by exalting him and bestowing His bounties upon him, he says, 'My Lord has exalted me.' But when He tests him by straitening his sustenance, he says, 'My Lord has humiliated me.' But no; you do not treat the orphan honourably, and do not urge one another to feed the poor" [Al-Quran (89: 15-18)].

THESE Ayahs of Qur'an clearly state that by exalting and honouring someone, and by providing bounties and sustenance, Allah tests a person just like He tests by restricting the provisions. By providing enough bounties and provisions, Allah wants to see how a person behaves with orphans, needy, destitute, and hungry. Allah gives bounties to someone with having a share in it for the needy and poor.

Shareholders in one's personal wealth are family members, orphans, relatives, poor neighbours, wayfarers, and all the needy people of the community, city, state, nation, and world, regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity. The amount of generosity is dependent on how much one has.

"And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say, 'That which is beyond your needs.' Thus Allah makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought" [Al-Qur'an (2: 219)].

When a person starts thinking that the provision and wealth given to him is just because of his/her best planning, business management, smartness, technological skills, etc and that he should have full control of his/her wealth, he/she is completely mistaken and misguided. When a person doesn't fulfill his/her responsibility by giving shares to the shareholders and violates the partnership law, --the moral contract to share the wealth with others-- his/her wealth might be confiscated and ceased by Allah.

Then he/she starts complaining about God and says, "My Lord has humiliated me." Allah responds, "But no; you do not treat the orphan honourably, and do not urge one another to feed the poor."

In fact, his/her wealth has been ceased, and humiliation has become his/her fate because of the fact that he/she "doesn't treat the orphan honourably, and [does] not urge one another to feed the poor."

Food Banks maintain the register of shareholders of your wealth/bounties/provisions of life. The members are extremely needy people who can't manage two daily meals.   The Food Bank eases your life. You don't need to go anywhere and search for the needy and hungry.