Muslims riled by MacKay’s gag order on moderate B.C. Imam
VANCOUVER – Canadian Muslims are riled by a decision by Canada’s defence minister to yank a speech by a B.C. Imam that was scheduled for Monday.
Zijad Delic was to address Islamic Heritage Month celebrations in Ottawa on Monday. The Imam is an academic and a moderate and is known for his resentment of radicalism.
“Canada’s Defence Minister Peter MacKay has cancelled an appearance by executive director of the Canadian Islamic Congress Imam Zijad Delic who was scheduled to address Islamic Heritage Month celebrations at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa on Monday,” said Haroon Khan, a trustee with the Pakistan-Canada Association.
“It appears that the current Government of Canada has again succumbed to pressure from interest groups dedicated to shutting out articulate and passionate voices of reason and clarity that Imam Zijad Delic most definitely represents as head of the Canadian Islamic Congress,” he said.
“Imam Zijad Delic and the Canadian Islamic Congress stand accused of promulgating extremist views. Remarks made by the Imam’s predecessor regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been taken out of context and are being attributed to the Imam and the organization – A charge the Imam calls ‘baseless’ and ‘unfounded’.”
“Imam Zijad Delic served with honour and distinction as the Imam of the Richmond Jamia Masjid leading a congregation representing a United Nations of Muslims from all corners of the globe who came to the Mosque to practice their faith, perform their daily prayers and hear his talks on Islam. His warm and generous personality distinguished him as an Imam and community leader who remains active in Multiculturalism and inter-faith initiatives,” Khan said in a statement.
“As a Muslim iof Bosnian descent he recently wrote eloquently about the need for truth and reconciliation to heal the wounds arising from the bloody conflict in his ancestral country, something that he feels should be applied to all the conflicts we face today. Imam Delic was a signatory in a recent Fatwa originating from Canada prohibiting Terrorism as an affront to Islam.
“As a Canadian he continues to build bridges of tolerance and understanding emphasizing the shared values of Muslims and those of all religions and cultures and has expressed the need for more engagement of Muslims in all parts of life in Canada,” Khan said about the Imam who is considered to be an academically inclined and who has advanced the cause of moderate Islam.
“Imam Delic has served in many capacities as a spiritual leader, an advocate for the community and as a clear voice in bringing about a greater understanding of Islam and its traditions. I consider Imam Zijad Delic a Brother and true Friend and I am proud to stand with him,” Khan said.
“Defence Minister Peter McKay has yet to give a good reason why he has uninvited the Imam. A public enquiry into what prompted this embarrassment to all Canadians should be called to strip the layers of rhetoric and misinformation being levelled at the Imam and Canadian Islamic Congress.
“One can only surmise that this whole incident appears to be politically motivated. A similar decision made by Jason Kenney who barred Former British Member of Parliament George Galloway from visiting and speaking in Canada has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada on the same grounds. It appears that these representatives of the current Government of Canada are intent to manufacture enemies of the state – individuals whose only lethal weapons are their intellect, spirit and voice – something not so easily silenced.”
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news editor:
I find your article one sided, and irresponsible journalism and that creates division between races specially among minorities. We have chosen to come here, a country away from tyranny of where we have come from and there is no desire to fall in to the same trap we have escaped from. I trust our government and their decision accordingly. Your article is accusatory, discriminatory and against the unity of our nation.
You have lost my respect I had for your organization. Now, to correct this mistake and for the sake of your organization, our community and our country, you should write an open apology letter to Peter Mckay, Government of Canada and all Canadian who were hurt by your venomous article, and if people are not satisfied, then you should resign.
Your concern for our country is noted.
Our country benefits when all its citizens are treated equally and with respect. The treatment Mr. Delic received was not appropriate and was dictated by other voices that speak for foreign governments.
Canadians, regardless of their race and culture and religion, must first and foremost be full Canadians with no loyalty to other external causes and concerns.
If the decision was based solely for the good of Canada, we’d have endorsed it.
Mr. Delic is a white, European Muslim (Bosnian) whose former nation endured a barbaric genocide of Muslims. He has a unique perspective to share with folks in this country.
The Institute for research on genocide said this about him:
MacKay, as defence minister during a time when our troops are in harm’s way in Afghanistan, must be cautious when he succumbs to pressure to so unceremoniously dump Delic.
This does not help our cause and our fight against militancy.
We have taken a position on this matter. We think MacKay acted in a manner that was inappropriate, demonstrated a great lack of foresight and did Canada substantial harm. He should have done his research much earlier.
It is not as though Delic is a stranger to government work and it is not as though he just sprang up on the Canadian scene.
Vancouverite will give voice to minorities who are not given the time of day by some mainstream media.
We’ll not back down from that position.
Salim Jiwa
Why we continue to alienate Muslims and then complain about the response we get
from the Muslims. Muslims want be part of this great nation and want to believe in its ideals. I can’t believe what I am reading in these comments. So much hatred towards one community! Is this the Canada we envision? As an immigrant,
and believe me we are all immigrants to this great nation, I came to this country because it had different values. This country gave me my right to practice my religion, allowed me to have the freedom to speak as long as I did not offend anyone
and allowed me to raise my children who I know will be great Canadians.
When Government starts deciding who is going to speak without even knowing what they are going to say, I have a problem with that. I am a proud Muslim Canadian and I will do anything for Canada’s interests. Everyone should understand , we are here to stay and all we want is treated same as everyone else.
Imam Delic is a very fine gentlemen and an academic. His ideals are Canadian
and he should be heard as much as possible. He can only contribute positively.
Us Muslims don’t want this right to speak as an exclusivity. If my Christian, Jewish,
Hindu, Sikh or Atheist brothers want to have their leaders to address the same body
of people, I will never stand in their way. Mr Mckay you are allowing bigotary to win
by becoming part of it. Please stay on high grounds as you have been given a chance to lead a great nation.
Why is anyone paying attention to Peter MacKay? The man’s department is seriously implicated in torture allegations that his boss continually manages to sweep under the rug.
I must say I am not surprised with the level of ‘anti-Muslim’ sentiment being displayed. Whenever a Muslim tries to engage the political establishment the label of radical, fanatic, moderate comes up. It is a very smart way to keep any Muslim from gaining any credibility in the eyes of the public and national media.
Imam Delic is a wonderful human being that has taken his gifts to the national stage and is now being tarnished for the misgivings of a former member of CIC. I suppose all Muslims are terrorists and deserve to be ridiculed and minimized. Why open a dialogue? Talking about something never helped solve anything.
Most of the time racism is buried under the surface. The reason we gave these people the space to comment is demonstrate to MacKay and the Canadian establishment as well as mainstream media that constant stereotyping of people, misinformation, deliberate attempts to sabotage Muslim organizations works negatively over a period of time and does cause cognitive impairment in people. There are those who believe that 1.2 billion Muslims in this world are walking around with explosives tied to their waists and just waiting to blow up. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are 300,000 Canadians who are Muslims and they live side-by-side with neighbours in peace. 7 million indigenous Americans are Muslims and 15,000 US soldiers are also Muslims. Tens of thousands of Afghan Muslim soldiers are fighting with our forces in that country and we know that without their collaboration we’d not win the fight against the extremist Taliban.
Has anyone seen the graves of Muslim American soldiers at Arlington?
Now, we wanted to show you the kind of extreme attitude that has developed out there with the constant agenda setting mechanisms at work within the Canadian media scene and the government of Canada. We could have turfed these people from here easily. But we let them speak as a wake up call to fellow Canadians and to the minister of defence, the minister of immigration, the minister of foreign affairs and Mr. Harper and to leaders of the opposition as well as fellow reporters.
I left a comment yesterday in the form of a portion of a letter to Defence Minister Peter MacKay. It was not profane, not one word. It did not call for violence, not one word. What it did was congratulate Minister MacKay on his cancellation of Delic speaking opportunity and direct attention to very specific ongoing examples and incident of brutal muslim violence and the hypocrisy of Delic in dealing with or addressing the same.
You refused to post it. While the “news” item above contains a significant amount of blatant misinformation, journalistic fawning and muslim apology in the form of journalistic boot licking, I was under the impression that this was an “unbiased” news website that posted items relevant to current events and let reaction and public sentiment take the ebb and flow from there.
I was wrong. This is a hack website and not a credible news agency. This website shills for and advocates/promotes the agenda of muslims.
Nicely done. At least now we have stripped away your air of credibility and the illusion of journalistic impartiality.
It may have been a chapter rather than a few short paragraphs Don.
Moderate Muslims are the ones who only support jihad in a peaceful way, by funding it and keeping their mouths shut. The radical Muslims are the ones who will do violence with no compunction whatsoever.
This is already verifiable in the many conflicts and social conditions where there are numbers of Muslims anywhere on this planet.
They simply cannot be trusted at this time in history. If they radically change their view that the only people who deserve to live (or have any status in society) are them.
Sorry, but McKay gets my vote regardless of what going on in the back-rooms.
So when is Christian or Buddhist heritage month?
Ask yourself why there is only a Muslim month. Why does the RCMP’s security section hold an annual event with Muslim kids. It is because they think that is the way to bring Muslims on side. We disagree. If there is going to be a Muslim month let’s also do a Christian month, Jewish month etc.
I would also like to see an atheist month.
I would endorse that wholeheartedly and that way neither Jews nor Muslims would get offended. An infidel day at DND? Go for it.
Here’s the thing — I don’t think anybody has said that CIC has never made controversial remarks, nor that its current and past presidents are above reproach. If you’re going to denounce an entire body of people based on a few controversial stances or statements, I guess we should denounce B’nai B’rith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Aptowitzer), the Catholic Church ()http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sexual_abuse_scandal_in_Canada, and the Conservative Party of Canada (http://thetyee.ca/News/2004/05/20/So_What_DID_Harper_Say/), too, right?
The fact remains that CIC has done significantly more good than harm; for example, encouraging Muslim families to watch their children for signs of being inducted into violent extremism. But, of course, since most people commenting here appear to believe Muslims are an evil that must be either domesticated or eradicated, I guess their good works don’t carry any weight.
Sad.
And guess what Delic’s speech was about? He was going to encourage Muslims to participate in Canada fully and even join the armed forces which needs to recruit badly from minorities. He recently signed an outstanding decree – otherwise known as Fatwa – which went completely contrary to the creed of Osama and his crowd. It is almost as though lobby groups in Canada want Muslims to have absolutely no say on global or domestic politics. Minority groups find themselves without voice because they are not as powerful as some of those who lobby our government on behalf of foreign states.
Our government is already fully infiltrated by islamic groups. I believe they are the only religion that has its Heritage Month! What more can be said here. I suggest your read the book Muslim Mafia. The book documents very well the high level of infiltration the muslim groups have achieved in the U.S. government and how it is affecting negatively their national security.
As to Delic, nobody knows the speech he would have given nor how he would have phrased it. But, one thing I know about is TAQQIYA and islamic groups are proficient in its use.
I also wrote to Kenney and MacKay congratulating them.
Hope you asked Kenney and MacKay to create a heritage month for all religions.. we’ve got enough months in a year. Are you one of those who also believes Obama is a muslim.. if so, it must be scary,eh! Commander in Chief of the most powerful nation a muslim and Canadian government lock step with his government.
Someone once said “ignorance breeds fear”. It would do us all good to dialogue and practice tolerance. Unwise to paint all muslims (1.2 billion) with the brush of your personal experience.
Well MacKay and Kenney might not appreciate the fact that an ignorant bigot is sending them congratulatory messages on putting down Muslims. However, it does demonstrate to MacKay and Kenney that minority Canadians are getting increasingly concerned about hate that is coming their way because of government and media actions and the fear this government continues to breed about Islam and Muslim organizations as well as the recent treatment of minorities coming into Canada. These two, and their boss, need to understand that their actions are fuelling hate towards Muslims and minorities. Take the recent example of the Tamil men, women and children who arrived in Canada seeking refuge. They are locked up in prison. And there is no public outcry because these folks have no kinship to the majority population of Canada. Even brown media types working for mainstream remain quiet because they think that is what the population and their bosses want. Now, what did Kenney do what when the Tamils arrived here? He suggested Europe and Canada should tighten up together on immigration and refugees. The implication is obvious and has racial overtones. He also sought advice from Australia – already infamous for its handling of refugees.He told China and India to control the flow of illegal immigration although it is not clear what a host country can do to prevent people from leaving. MacKay and Kenney and the minister of public safety need to understand that they gain nothing by encouraging and trying to appease hate-mongers and fear-mongers. Their actions cause a rift within Canadian society and there is only a short-term gain by encouraging fear and taking actions that please lobby groups working for foreign governments. Did you know that the RCMP’s anti-terrorist section has for the past four years turned Muslim kids into a public spectacle by having events organized by the National Security Investigation team to allegedly bring about an understanding in these poor Muslim kids of what this country stands for? Four events have been held – in all four, Muslim children have been included. Token Christian and Jews were brought in last year and this year they are bringing in Sikh children. Do you know of any country where the anti-terrorist unit of a police force is engaged in doing what community outreach officers should be doing? Why are Muslim children being taken care of by the anti-terrorist unit? It might sound like a perfectly normal thing to white people – however, to this reporter it sounds like racial profiling and targeting of a minority because of the belief that Muslims are particularly susceptible to being recruited and the anti-terrorist unit has to get there before the recruiters do.
So why is DND having an Islamic Heritage Month?
Did I miss the Jewish Heritage Month or the Christian Heritage Month or the Sikh Heritage Month?
I guess if you whine enough and blow up enough of our soldiers you get some recognition.
Islamic Heritage Month . . . disgraceful waste of time and money in order to appease the most complaining religion in history.
Cancel the whole thing Mr. Mackay.
You’re going to use Egypt as an example of Muslim hospitality towards Christian? I am going to assume you are a well meaning Muslim and not engaging in disinformation. In that case, you should refrain from holding up Egypt as any sort of example. Right now, Coptic Christians, not Greek Orthodox monks, are being severely persecuted in the rural areas of Egypt. (If I write the details without citing a source, I’m sure you will refuse to publish this entire comment. Since I don’t have that source at my finger tips, I will refrain from the gruesome details.)
Here is my own mixed experience with Muslims. Positive, one of my best friends at work is Muslim. Devoted, observant and peaceful. I volunteered as a ESL teacher to an entire family of Afghan refugees. Sweet people, but they’re followers of the Aga Khan, so they’re hardly mainstream. Negative, the gun pulled on me in Palestine. The Christian village burned down by Muslims in Indonesia. The small tribe of animist farmers in Guinea who had their crops eaten and trampled down by Muslim herders. Dozens and dozens of friends and acquaintances who have fled Muslim persecution. My friend’s sister’s husband who as a Christian rights activists was murdered in Pakistan along with everyone else on the board of that organization. My friend’s colleague who as a Christian pastor was murdered in West Bengal, India. The burned down church in Assam, India. Of course, the un-ending requests for baksheesh in Bangladesh to just to get some of my paperwork filled out.
The positive experiences all happened after the negative ones. So you can tell, I didn’t let the negative keep me from helping or befriending Muslims in Canada. So please accept this friendly advice; you’re contributing to my list of negative Muslim experiences. CIC needs to spend 5-10 years re-building its credibility with Canadians before it is accepted back for government seminars. The fact that it has been involved with other departments reflects poorly on the government bureaucracy. It does not boost CIC’s credibility, it rather indicates that too many in government are asleep at the switch. Your attacks on Minister MacKay because of a very safe and conservative decision are un-warranted.
But the positive and negative feelings you experience should not be used to create sentiments about their faith. I’ve had numerous bad experiences with numerous brands of people. I take that as something that is individual. I may have a bad experience with a Jewish person. At the same time I may have the best experience with another Jewish person. That should not lead me to generalize. But when you are from mainstream white communities you tend to judge minorities precisely as you’ve done. Take Delic. He is a white, European Muslim whose people were victims of genocide in Bosnia just a few years ago by Christian Serbs. But Delic moved on from that. Can you? See people as individuals rather than as communities of nasty folks? This is the issue that we complain about – generalization and stigmatization. I have worked longer on Islamic militancy than most reporters in Canada. I have no love at all for their ideology and their methods. But I will do nothing to give them ammunition by fighting against the faith – that antagonizes people and drives them towards fanaticism. Let us learn to treat people individually according to the content of their character. Osama had hoped to create a chasm between people by his actions – it is up to us to let him win by giving him more recruits or defeating him by drawing people away from militancy.
” News Editor
October 3, 2010 – 4:15 PM
News Editor
Which way did you want us to slant this? Your way?”
Instead of “slant” why not investigate and report the facts? This Imam is no moderate to his flock although he will take great pains to make you believe him that he is the definition of “moderate”. You might like to spend a rainy weekend browsing the Qur’an and get a better look at who you are defending on blind faith.
The editor has looked at the Quran and looked at the Bible. Without context, many passages can be dug up and thrown around in both books as promoting various acts. However, one must put things in their historic context and go back in time to understand what happened, why was something said and at what point was something said. You can look for positives and you’ll find them. You can look for negatives and you can find them. Is that so rare? Is there nothing in the Bible that one could misconstrue? To get the correct impression one needs to stamp a passage with time and circumstance.
Did you guys even *try* to interview anyone with an opposing view for this article? Isn’t that a basic tenet of balanced journalism?
I don’t think “Muslims’ are upset, I think the CIC is upset and those are two very different things.
Maureen – you are correct – the major Canadian newspapers are reporting that the muslims are thanking the Min.of Nat.Defence for cancelling the visit/speech.
But Sam, how do you know they are the majority? The argument being made is that clerics should not discuss Islam but rather it should be done by academics. There is no argument there. But if Delic was invited and his speech was on participation in Canada’s affairs along the lines of his thesis and advocating participation in our armed forces, what was wrong with that? It is the cancellation at the last minute that demonstrates a failure.
A large number of Muslims, led by the Muslim Canadian Congress have come out against this hate speech by CIC.
Did you know that CIC denies 9/11 was committed by Islamists, and points it fingers at others … ?
This article is a prime example of poor journalism. You can detect the bias right away. The author of this poorly written piece not only leaves out that Imam Zijad Delic is anti semitic, but has stated that Israeli’s over the age of 18 are legitimate suicide bomber targets. BTW the National Post is far more read across the nation then this socialist anti Canadian vancouverite; which probably appeases the Muslim minority in fear of getting death threats.
PS: ‘News Editor’ I’m sure you’ll remove this message in fear of it being politically incorrect. Oh wait, I don’t care.
Which way did you want us to slant this? Your way?
Dear editor, I think you have allowed yourself to be goaded into revealing more than you intended.
This is a surprisingly revealing answer, and perhaps more honest than you intended, since it reveals the fact that you don’t really believe in all that pap about “objectivity”. Or to be more accurate, you seem to believe that the only objective truth is what you happen to feel, and anything else is not only irrelevant, but “slant”.
This is far more dangerous than simply choosing a side sticking to it, since in that case you at least have to acknowledge that there is another side to the story.
I think Canadian journalists really need to learn humility before they will ever be effective at delivering the news.
How about you stop shading the facts and tell the whole truth, but we know that’s not going to happen, don’t we.
You journalists are so predictably left wing ideologues that nothing you say can be trusted.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m all for you characters destroying your profession. The world would be a better place because of it though.
So keep it up Eh!
You should not slant the news in any way at all. Present the news and let the readers make up their own minds. If you want to express your opinion do it on the editorial page.
The story simply carried the reaction of the gentleman from the Pakistan-Canada association. The comments were made in the comment section.
Why are the media and others making a big deal about a minister refusal to listen to a speaker from an organization which has promoted racism? Any organization which “promotes death to others” should be outlawed. Muslim radicals should be forced to form a political party to publicly state their hatred. Any behaviour outside of the political arena should not be tolerated by any government or peace loving people, anywhere. In England, the Muslims radicals “chase” non muslims out of the “what have become Muslim strongholds.” When the victims complain to police, the police do nothing. Let us hope this never happens in Canada.
Dude, why solicit comments? Why don’t you just write a whole bunch of stuff yourself? Oh yeah, that’s what you’re doing.
Dude, if there was an ounce of sense in your head I’d run your comments. This is not space for idiots to vent. You have solutions, you want to promote understanding between people – we’ll run your comments. However, if all it is going to be is spewing and promoting hate, then take it to the National Post – they love anti-Islamic rhetoric.
Well said. You are a man of principle. However, I am left wonder why you allowed “Blazing Catfur” to post her usual knee-jerk ad hominem venom. Her comments about me and Wahida Valiante are baseless, malicious and uninformed. I recommend that you reconsider this poster’s comments. She has nothing of value to say.
Greg. I have worked on Islamic militancy and investigated Islamic militancy for one of the best investigative news agencies. From here in Vancouver with Ahmed Ressam and his team, to Toronto 17 to Phoenix to Sacramento to Los Angeles and many other cities. I have visited numerous mosques, talked to numerous militants. Islamic militancy poses a bigger threat to Islam and Muslims than it does to the West. Delic may be a leader of an agency that has made past errors. However, Delic himself is an academic who signed off on a sweeping Fatwa against the oppression of the other gender as well as violence created by the Jihadist groups. This was mishandled by the minister. If Delic was perceived to be a militant he should not have been invited. If he was invited, he should have been allowed to speak. Someone got to MacKay. It would be hard to tell who. However, this has left a bad taste which will hurt our cause in Afghanistan and elsewhere and at home. I will check out the post you mentioned and if it takes aim at specific people I will remove it. Thanks.