Islamic History Month
Comes to Manitoba, Canada
A few weeks ago, in an extraordinary act of dhimmitude, Manitoba became
the first Canadian province to proclaim October as Islamic History Month, a
month designed to recognize the province’s “flourishing Muslim community.”
Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Christine
Melnick gushed that “In Manitoba we value and cherish our ethnic diversity, to which
the Muslim community contributes so richly.”
Also present at the announcement was Shahina Siddiqui, the chairwoman of
Islamic History Month Canada (IHMC), founded in 2007 by the notorious Canadian Islamic Congress,
whose former President Mohamed Elmasry once refused to retract on public television his statement that all Israelis over age 18 were legitimate targets for terrorist
attacks, and who wasted hundreds of thousands of public dollars pursuing a
human rights complaint against Maclean’s magazine for publishing
articles critical of Islam. None of that aggressive Islamic supremacism was
evident in the feel-good tropes trotted out by Siddiqui, who stated in the news
release that she and her community “are pleased to celebrate, inform, educate,
and share with fellow Canadians the Muslim cultural heritage” in order to build
“a more inclusive, compassionate, and multicultural Canada.”
Anyone who has been paying attention to the news over the past few years
may well question whether Muslim presence tends to contribute to “compassion”
and “inclusivity.” Tell that to the Christians being massacred in Muslim lands
across the Middle East or to the European Jews who find themselves, yet again, the target of
slurs, vandalism, beatings, and murder because they are unfortunate enough to
be living in areas with concentrations of Muslim immigrants. Islam just doesn’t
seem to be a religion that produces a lot of compassion.
For those with negative perceptions of Islam, the Manitoba announcement
will, if not lay our fears to rest, certainly indicate decisively that Manitoba
has now ruled them out of bounds. The Manitoba provincial website proclaims that Islamic History Month is intended to “recognize and
celebrate the history and heritage of Muslims.”
One might be forgiven for not realizing that Muslims have made a
significant enough contribution to Manitoba to deserve an entire month of
celebration. Manitoba’s Muslims number around 9,000, less than 1% of Manitoba’s
total population of just over 1.2 million people.
Like most parts of Canada, Manitoba has a relatively multicultural
demographic, with many diverse groups who have made substantial contributions
to the province’s history. Ukrainians, for example, first arrived in Manitoba
in 1891 and constitute, according to the 2006 census, nearly 13% (167,175
people) of the present-day population. This Slavic group forms the backbone of
modern Manitoba, having played a significant role in agricultural development
as well as in the spheres of business, manufacturing, the trades and
professions. As an item on
Manitoba history notes, “there are six members of Ukrainian origin sitting in
the legislative assembly, one of whom is the speaker of the house, and
[Ukrainian-Canadians] have been elected reeves, mayors, councillors, and
aldermen in eighteen municipalities.”
Another distinct and vital part of the province are Manitoban Jews, who
arrived even earlier than Ukrainians, in 1874. Although their numbers have
never been large (they are now, at 16,500, only about 1.3% of the provincial
population), and although anti-Semitism created many barriers during their
first century in the province, Jews made enormous contributions as farmers, laborers, storekeepers, lawyers, judges, political leaders,
teachers, and philanthropists. Neither of these groups is publicly recognized
with its own Manitoban month. The fact is that there aren’t enough months in
the year to properly acknowledge all the peoples who have made Manitoba what it
is, and such attempts at recognition are bound to create bad blood.
In the case of Manitoba’s 9,000 Muslims, it isn’t clear why they deserve
special acknowledgement; the announcement does not get past bromides about
diversity. A few years ago, a dozen Muslim families in Winnipeg made national headlines for demanding that their children be excused from participating in two
mandatory primary-level school programs: music (not part of their culture, they
claimed) and physical co-education (not morally acceptable). The same Chair of
IHMC, Shahina Siddiqui, then executive director of Islamic Social Services in
Winnipeg, was quick to point out in interview that these are a minority of
Manitoba’s Muslims. Some Muslims do have a problem with co-education at the
higher school levels, she confirmed, and accommodation has been made for them.
But there should be no problem with co-education “under the age of puberty.”
Come again? Why should accommodation be made at any time?
And here we get to the heart of the matter: the demand that Muslim
cultural traditions and doctrines—even those that run directly counter to
Canadian values such as gender equality—take precedence over Canadian laws.
Rather than accepting and seeking to become a part of the society to which they
have chosen to immigrate, Muslims such as these demand special accommodations
and rights—for halal food, single-sex swimming times, special worship spaces,
and so on.
And now their own month too.
Hovering behind the Immigration Minister’s embrace of Islamic History
Month, of course, is the Muslim claim to special victim status. In an article entitled “How Islamic History Month Canada Came to Be and What It Means
to You,” the President of the Canadian Islamic Congress, Wahida Valiante,
complained in her first sentence that “Over the past decade, Muslims in Western
societies have been pushed into the harsh spotlight of negative discourse. This
trend has been particularly evident in academia, among mainstream media, and in
prevailing political rhetoric; but has not escaped other segments of Canadian society,
including the general public.”
Even if this assertion of negative coverage were true, which it most
definitively is not, its sleight of hand is astounding—as if some dastardly
external agent has brought Muslims unfairly into the spotlight. There is no
hint that the repeated, horrific acts of violence committed by Muslims in the
name of Islam might have played some role in tarnishing the Islamic brand. In
fact, it is the very silence of large segments of the mainstream media about
Muslim violence that allows Valiante to make such ridiculous claims, not only
that her people have received unjustified negative press but also that special
compensation is now necessary to make amends for Islam’s bloody image.
What will Islamic History Month have to say about the Muslim heritage of
child-rape, polygamy, honor killing, female genital mutilation, forced
marriage, wife abuse, and anti-Semitism that Muslims seem to bring with them
wherever their numbers reach sufficient levels (see Raymond Ibrahim’s analysis
of the Rule of Numbers). These matters, presumably, will not figure at all.
In fact, if dealt with honestly, it might take an entire month to
highlight Muslim atrocities on the world stage—they are so numerous and so
bloody. Perhaps Muslim immigrants worldwide could aim for one month in which
they left their non-Muslim neighbors in peace? And maybe on even one day of
that month, they might practice a little healthy self-criticism, asking
themselves why Muslims so frequently commit violence in the name of their
religion, perhaps even for that one day extend apologies to the host cultures
that have taken them in, supported them financially, given them shelter and educational
opportunities, and provided refuge from the dysfunctional and violent places
they have left.
That’s probably too much to ask.
One can’t blame Muslims in Manitoba or elsewhere for pushing for an
Islamic History Month: who doesn’t want one’s culture and religion officially
sanctioned, even if the praise comes long before it can, by any reasonable
measure, have been earned?
But what do non-Muslims get out of Islamic History Month? Do the members
of Manitoba’s provincial legislature really believe Muslim contributions to the
province so outstanding? I doubt most could name one not spoon-fed them by Ms.
Siddiqui’s organization. Many provincial politicians probably believe they are
doing a great thing in affirming Muslim culture, thus showcasing their own
credentials as fighters against Islamophobia, that Muslim
Brotherhood-manufactured thought crime applied to anyone who recoils at the
record of the religion of peace.
And for any amongst the Manitoba ruling elite who might secretly feel
uneasy about this record, Islamic History Month is surely a self-protective
gesture, a special tribute by non-Muslims in the hope that they may be spared
the Muslim “days of rage” that are fast destroying many European cities. Will it work? Ask the
Christians in Egypt, in Syria, in Gaza, in Pakistan, in Iraq—tiny oppressed
minorities who constitute no numerical or political threat to the Islamic
dominance of their societies. No mercy has been extended to them. Why should
Islamic History Month guarantee inter-ethnic harmony? One thing is for sure:
other Canadian provincial assemblies will be receiving visits from delegations
eager to see Islamic History Month declared in their provinces too.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BELOW
Target: MAYOR OF
OTTAWA; OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD; and OTTAWA POLICE SERVICE
Region: Canada
 |
Petition Background
(Preamble):
We, the undersigned, hereby voice our concern,
regarding matters involving certain Ottawa Police Service (OPS) activity.
Petition:
As Canadians, we are disturbed by some OPS
“outreach” initiatives, including initiatives that have reportedly seen OPS
officials recruiting candidate police officers from and through several Ottawa
area mosques. Other aspects of the outreach program call for the attention of
Canadians concerned about the integrity of the Ottawa Police Service, and its
management.
Regarding the outreach program: we feel that Canadian police forces should not be recruiting from religious institutions, given the risk of radicalism presented by certain strains of religion. Moderate Canadian Muslims have objected to outreach initiatives that have implicated the Ottawa Police Services Board, under Chairman Eli El-Chantiry, the Ottawa Police Service, under Police Chief Charles Bordeleau, and the Community and Police Action Committee, in involvement with questionable Islamic organizations and persons.
These police organizations have not proved able, in a consistent way, to distinguish radical Islamist from moderate Islamic actors within the community, and have therefore enabled hardline elements wrongly to profit from public association with police. It is a matter of record, for example, that the Ottawa Police Service has associated itself with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), formerly the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN), the Canadian chapter of a Saudi-funded United States organization that was designated an unindicted co-conspirator in the US Holy Land Foundation terrorism funding prosecution. Ottawa Police officials have also attended a celebratory event at a mosque known to welcome an Islamic extremist speaker.
If police outreach should be necessary, Ottawans must be approached as a broad polity, not as members of religious or other exclusive "communities", to participate in police-sponsored public briefings and recruitment sessions. The emphasis should be on public fora and institutions, where all citizens would be equally welcome. It goes without saying that the police force of any free, unbiased country would be expected to avoid recruiting staff based on religious affiliation, especially in countries in which sectarianism has not been recognized officially as an acceptable basis for “equal-opportunity” recruitment. To do otherwise would be unacceptable and inappropriate for a principled country such as Canada, and invite sectarian and other division.
We are surprised that, in economic times in which the Ottawa Police Service finds itself challenged to fund its basic policing obligations, the Ottawa Police Services Board and Ottawa Police executive have involved themselves in a wide ranging program of “flag-and-banner” ceremonies celebrating foreign countries and their traditions. The OPS must return to putting its taxpayer resources into the basic police mandate: policing. Why, for example, was a banner lauding Islam displayed in the Ottawa Police building, particularly when there could be far more important and pressing priorities for the attention of Ottawa’s police, and the use of police funds? Was it appropriate for the Ottawa Police Service to have Ottawa’s taxpayers cover an Egyptian flag-raising ceremony at OPS headquarters, to celebrate the appearance of representatives of the Interior Ministry of the Mursi Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt? Is this an attempt by some officials to curry favour with select, and perhaps troublingly radical, residents of Ottawa?
As concerned Canadian citizens, we object to the divisive direction in which certain OPS outreach initiatives have taken the OPS and Ottawa community. We ask that the police stop this sort of outreach program and especially refrain from inappropriate involvement in religious, foreign and other celebrations and institutions. At a time when citizens worry about radicalism and gang crime, elements of this program send confusing messages to our young and to a substantial immigrant population seeking to integrate.
It is the duty of each and every Canadian to speak out when our values and freedom are compromised. With Remembrance Day coming on November 11th, we must never forget that the freedoms we enjoy in Canada today, and may even take for granted, have been secured at a very high price.
As the national anthem states: “We stand on guard for thee.” We hope that the Mayor and City Council of Ottawa, the Ottawa Police Services Board and Ottawa Police Service, will do the same.
Regarding the outreach program: we feel that Canadian police forces should not be recruiting from religious institutions, given the risk of radicalism presented by certain strains of religion. Moderate Canadian Muslims have objected to outreach initiatives that have implicated the Ottawa Police Services Board, under Chairman Eli El-Chantiry, the Ottawa Police Service, under Police Chief Charles Bordeleau, and the Community and Police Action Committee, in involvement with questionable Islamic organizations and persons.
These police organizations have not proved able, in a consistent way, to distinguish radical Islamist from moderate Islamic actors within the community, and have therefore enabled hardline elements wrongly to profit from public association with police. It is a matter of record, for example, that the Ottawa Police Service has associated itself with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), formerly the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN), the Canadian chapter of a Saudi-funded United States organization that was designated an unindicted co-conspirator in the US Holy Land Foundation terrorism funding prosecution. Ottawa Police officials have also attended a celebratory event at a mosque known to welcome an Islamic extremist speaker.
If police outreach should be necessary, Ottawans must be approached as a broad polity, not as members of religious or other exclusive "communities", to participate in police-sponsored public briefings and recruitment sessions. The emphasis should be on public fora and institutions, where all citizens would be equally welcome. It goes without saying that the police force of any free, unbiased country would be expected to avoid recruiting staff based on religious affiliation, especially in countries in which sectarianism has not been recognized officially as an acceptable basis for “equal-opportunity” recruitment. To do otherwise would be unacceptable and inappropriate for a principled country such as Canada, and invite sectarian and other division.
We are surprised that, in economic times in which the Ottawa Police Service finds itself challenged to fund its basic policing obligations, the Ottawa Police Services Board and Ottawa Police executive have involved themselves in a wide ranging program of “flag-and-banner” ceremonies celebrating foreign countries and their traditions. The OPS must return to putting its taxpayer resources into the basic police mandate: policing. Why, for example, was a banner lauding Islam displayed in the Ottawa Police building, particularly when there could be far more important and pressing priorities for the attention of Ottawa’s police, and the use of police funds? Was it appropriate for the Ottawa Police Service to have Ottawa’s taxpayers cover an Egyptian flag-raising ceremony at OPS headquarters, to celebrate the appearance of representatives of the Interior Ministry of the Mursi Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt? Is this an attempt by some officials to curry favour with select, and perhaps troublingly radical, residents of Ottawa?
As concerned Canadian citizens, we object to the divisive direction in which certain OPS outreach initiatives have taken the OPS and Ottawa community. We ask that the police stop this sort of outreach program and especially refrain from inappropriate involvement in religious, foreign and other celebrations and institutions. At a time when citizens worry about radicalism and gang crime, elements of this program send confusing messages to our young and to a substantial immigrant population seeking to integrate.
It is the duty of each and every Canadian to speak out when our values and freedom are compromised. With Remembrance Day coming on November 11th, we must never forget that the freedoms we enjoy in Canada today, and may even take for granted, have been secured at a very high price.
As the national anthem states: “We stand on guard for thee.” We hope that the Mayor and City Council of Ottawa, the Ottawa Police Services Board and Ottawa Police Service, will do the same.
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