Zafar Bangash
In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Quebec City mosque in which six Muslims were murdered in cold blood, it was expected that the right-wing bigots and their bootlickers would tone down their anti-Islamic rhetoric. Instead they have intensified their attacks.
Given the mass murder of six Muslims while praying at a Quebec City masjid on January 29th, it would be reasonable to assume that right-wing politicians and media outlets would tone down their anti-Islamic rhetoric. Perish the thought. A motion presented in the Canadian Parliament by Iqra Khalid, Member of Parliament from Mississauga-Erin Mills (west of Toronto), to condemn Islamophobia and other forms of religious discrimination and racism has led to allegations that it is an assault on “free speech.” The hate-mongers have gone further: they allege that it is an attempt to “impose” Shari‘ah (how such imposition can take place in a democratic society, where majority opinion rules, has been conveniently left off the table).
The assault on the motion presented in Parliament on December 6, 2016 (before the January attack in Quebec City) is led by two distinct groups: the right-wing Conservative Party that was booted out of office in the October 2015 elections, and right-wing media pundits, especially hardcore Zionists. While the former prime minister, Stephen Harper, was the chief architect of his party’s racist and specifically Islamophobic policy, there are enough racists and bigots still infesting the Conservative Party to carry on the racist cant even after Harper’s departure. The Conservative Party has just launched its leadership campaign but there is no dirth of anti-Muslim venom being spouted from their mouths. It matters not whether the candidate is male or female. They are all bigots.
Zionists in the Canadian media have taken up the anti-Muslim political chant. Lorrie Goldstein of the Toronto Sun is one such individual. He misses no opportunity to denigrate Muslims. And then there are the bootlicking Muslims that have made common cause with these fascists and bigots. These “house negroes,” as Malcolm X called them, hate everything about Islam and Muslims; they drink, dress immodestly, and probably indulge in other immoral acts that shall remain unmentioned here, yet they miss no opportunity to attack any calls for respecting the Islamic faith.
Let us get the facts straight. Iqra Khalid’s motion is non-binding; it is merely a motion, not a bill, and it calls on the government to “condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.” It calls for outlawing nothing, yet listening to the racists and bigots one gets the impression that the sky is about to fall. The fascists have condemned it as a “war against free speech.” They would not dare make such allegations if the motion were about condemning anti-Semitism, for instance. For the record, anti-Semitism is considered a hate crime in Canada, but not Islamophobia.
To understand how far the poison of Islamophobia has spread, consider this. Career American racists and bigots have also jumped on the bandwagon condemning the motion. These include The Daily Wire, founded by former Breitbart editor-at-large Ben Shapiro (a self-confessed pedophile; is that why he is so scared of Shari‘ah?), who described the motion as a “draconian” measure that would consider “any and all” instances of Islamophobia as hate crimes. Jihad Watch, LifeSiteNews and The Rebel have alleged the motion would be a “first step” toward imposing Shar‘iah!
Pamela Geller, an apology for the human species and well known for her anti-Muslim diatribes, took a shot at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, claiming he “has diabolically employed psychological warfare tactics created by the Muslim Brotherhood, and has smeared the entire Canadian population with the lie that they are Islamophobic.” Geller obviously knows nothing about Canada or Canadians who came out in their thousands in support of their fellow citizens — the Canadian Muslims — in the immediate aftermath of the Quebec City masjid tragedy.
Last November, the Canadian Parliament unanimously passed a motion condemning all forms of Islamophobia after an online petition generated nearly 70,000 signatures. Tom Mulcair, leader of the opposition NDP, presented the motion. Interestingly, at that time, the Conservative Party also voted for the motion. What has happened in the three months since to force the Conservatives to change their minds? Does Donald Trump’s election have anything to do with it?
Zafar Bangash is Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT).
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