CCD’s call to Canadian Muslim groups: Challenge ul-Haq now!
June 28, 2006, 8:28 am |
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By Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Ottawa, Canada, Wednesday, 28 June, 2006 - Six well-known Muslim organizations held a press conference in Ottawa on June 8, 2006 in which they issued a joint commitment “to take a leadership role in challenging extremism”. We look forward to these groups publicly challenging the extremist message of Britain’s Sheikh Riyadh ul-Haq who has been invited to Canada to “educate” Muslim youth, and to publicly call on the government to bar his entry to Canada.
Sheikh ul-Haq’s message is no secret. On June 15th, CCD released audio recordings of Sheikh Riyadh ul-Haq in which he is calling for martyrdom and jihad while presenting Hindus, Jews and tolerant Muslims as enemies of Islam. Many groups, including the CCD, Muslim Canadian Congress, Egale (Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere), B’nai Brith Canada, Canadian Jewish Congress, Hindu Dharma Mission, and others have called on Immigration Minister Monte Solberg to exercise his prerogative to bar entry to Canada of those who promote hatred and violence, as Canada has done in the past with members of the Ku Klux Klan.
“It was an extremist message that turned young British Muslims into mass murderers,” said Alastair Gordon, CCD president. “Minister Solberg has a duty to keep incitement out of Canada.”
The six Muslim organizations that issued the statement on combatting Islamic extremism were the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN), Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association (CMCLA), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Islamic Social Services Association (ISSA), Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), Muslim Students Association - National (MSA-National), and the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals (CAMP).
“It was reported that the local chapter of one of these Muslim organizations invited Sheikh Riyadh ul-Haq to speak to students at McMaster University,” Gordon continued. “Now that actual audio recordings of the Sheikh’s sermons have been made public, we hope that this organization and its co-signatories will join responsible Canadians in condemning ul-Haq’s views and calling for a denial of his entry into Canada.”
Unfortunately, ul-Haq’s statements have been defended by some Canadian imams as being “taken out of context”. However, there is no context that could explain away his comments about Hindus, Jews, moderate Muslims and homosexuals. Ul-Haq’s call for martyrdom is unequivocal: “Among the believers there are those who … are martyred in the way of Allah. And the rest of the believers, they are waiting for martyrdom. They are waiting for shahada [martyrdom].”
Canadians look forward to timely public action from the six Muslim organizations in keeping with their expressed opposition to extremism.
Founded in 2003, the Canadian Coalition for Democracies is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational think-tank dedicated to promoting democracy and freedom, and countering the ideologies that drive terrorism. CCD combines policy research, investigative journalism, education and strategic communications to support its mission.
Let your voice be heard in Ottawa! If you would like to send a message to Minister Monte Solberg, Minister Stockwell Day and Prime Minister Stephen Harper on this topic, please click here.
If you would like to comment on this statement or other topics relating to foreign policy or national security, please visit our public message forum and post your comments:
http://canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/17395.shtml
For more information, please contact:
David Ouellette
Director, Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Mobile: 514-704-8581
Office: 416-963-8998
Background:
A copy of the statement by the six Muslim organisations can be read at:
http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=2508_0_2_0_C
Audio recordings of Sheikh Riyadh Ul-Haq’s sermons can be heard at:
http://canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/17082.shtml
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Categories, Tags: Islam, War Against Islamo-fascism, Canada
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