In a Toronto Star article, “Broadcast of Muslim call to prayer offers lesson on gratitude,” notorious “Islamophobia” guru Amira Elghawaby hails the broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer (adhan) in Canada, as cities have made amendments to bylaws to allow the blasting of the call to prayer over loudspeakers during Ramadan. She says of those who oppose the broadcasting of the adhan:
For those of us engaged in anti-racism work, it’s difficult to forgive those who promote fear, xenophobia and discrimination of any kind. After all, their attempts at spreading division in our communities is harmful, especially when targeting vulnerable people. The hate can also have devastating consequences, as we all know too well.
But few ponder the question: how can opposition to declaration of supremacism broadcast at high volume over loudspeakers be automatically attributed to “fear,” “discrimination” and “racism”?
As is often done, the adhan is also oddly compared to church bells, which of course have no verbal content. By contrast, this is the content of the adhan:
Allah is greater (Allahu akbar); intoned four times.
I testify that there is no God but Allah (Ashhadu anna la ila ill Allah); intoned twice.
I testify that Mohammed is Allah’s Prophet (Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah); intoned twice.
Come to prayer (Hayya alas salah); intoned twice.
Come to security/salvation (Hayya alal falah); intoned twice.
Allah is greater (Allahu akbar); intoned twice.
There is no God but Allah (La ilah ill Allah); intoned once.
Rebel Media writes:
Namely, members of one particular faith are being targeted by law enforcement to pay big fines for allegedly breaching COVID-19 safety protocols; meanwhile several municipalities are temporarily waving bylaws so as to accommodate another particular faith. Can you possibly guess which religion is enduring the religious smackdown and which one is being lovingly accommodated? I bet you can.
Amira Alghawaby, who routinely calls critics of Islam nasty names, and levies her charge of “Islamophobia” against citizens who oppose Islamic supremacism, has served as spokesperson and as communications director for the National Council of Canadian Muslims. The NCCM was renamed from CAIR-CAN, and originated with CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in a jihad terror funding case.
Alghawaby also wrote a defamatory article for the Toronto Star, “warning” and “instructing” readers that “Conservatives should be wary of the company they keep.” She included me in her hit-list of the “bad company” who should be shunned. It isn’t surprising to see Alghawaby claiming victimhood and trashing anyone who takes issue with the broadcast of the adhan, or, in fact, with anything to do with Islam, despite her victimizing other people with her absurd and unwarranted charges.
Many in Canada have expressed legitimate outrage over the adhan being blasted over loudspeakers. They were not only largely dismissed, but also insulted. Activist and author Diane Bederman wrote about this issue and sent out emails about why she thought the Islamic call to prayer was inappropriate to be broadcast in Canada. Here are some of the brow-raising replies she received from city councillors in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who seem to have forgotten that they are public servants representing all Canadians:
Councillor Sam Austin:
Puzzling that you’ve never written me objecting to church bells being rung on Sunday. I guess displeasure about religious call to prayers depends on your particular faith.
SAM AUSTIN
COUNCILLOR
DISTRICT 5 – DARTMOUTH CENTRE
HALIFAX, NS B3J 3A5 www.halifax.ca
Austin follows up in the ongoing exchange:
I do hear church bells regularly. There are two in my neighbourhood with functioning bells. I have no problem with them or any faiths call to prayer. Thats equality and what our Charters guarantee of freedom of religion looks like, not whatever selective approach you’re arguing for. The only hypocrisy here is yours for picking on a minority when your own faith has a variation of the exact same practice. We’re made stronger as a nation through diversity. I’m sorry that your heart is closed and that you’ve forgotten the basics of Christian teaching: love thy neighbour? Do unto others? The fact that you felt compelled to write a community 1000s of Kms away to share this says a lot. I won’t be reading any further hateful emails from you.
SAM AUSTIN
From Councillor Waye Mason:
Your emails are now been placed into my archive file unread.
I recommend you read this article on the psychology of racism, you may find it useful: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201801/the-psychology-racismYou may also learn from this article about the way social media and the internet have amplified bigotry and hate:
https://theconversation.com/fear-more-than-hate-feeds-online-bigotry-and-real-world-violence-106988Finally, I leave you with these words:
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
WAYE MASON
Councillor | Le Conseiller | Nikanus Wunaqapemk
DISTRICT 7 HALIFAX SOUTH DOWNTOWN
From Councillor Shawn Cleary:
And If you actually believe the racist shit you are saying, you are an awful human being. I’m not sure how you live with yourself.
Shawn Cleary, MBA
Councillor, District 9 – Halifax West Armdale
www.shawncleary.caCity Hall Office:
My Council Support Coordinator is Chris Newson
newsonc@halifax.ca
The full exchanges can be read here.
In another email exchange that I was copied on, a city councillor in Hamilton, Ontario replied to concerns about the broadcast of the adhan. This one started out polite, though condescending:
In all fairness and as a practicing Roman Catholic, I need to say that I don’t feel the same and in fact, Catholic and other Christian Churches have been ringing bells in neighborhoods globally for a very long time, including the present time. We need to come together, through acceptance, tolerance and peace, because, the alternative isn’t Christian.
Meanwhile, in the Greater Toronto Area city of Brampton, the Peel District School Board has fired its Council Chair, Ravi Hooda, for posting “an Islamophobic tweet.” Hooda is also a real estate partner with RE/MAX, and he was fired from that position, too. Why? Because he lost his temper over the issue of the adhan being broadcast over loudspeakers:
Hooda was not given a reprimand and a second chance for his sarcasm. He was fired instantly for this tweet.
The National Herald in India also compared Ravi Hooda to “Indian nationals living in Arab countries” who have been fired for “Islamophobia.” The publication stated:
Soon after several Indian nationals living in Arab countries were fired from their jobs for displaying and portraying Islamophobia through social media, Canada has also removed an Islamophobe from his job and terminating his contract with one of the leading real estate companies…
A vicious anti-Indian campaign was recently launched and the National Herald dragged Hooda into it, even though his case was unrelated. As part of this campaign, Pakistan and Kuwait went to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to complain about so-called “Islamophobia” in India, when the real issue is about control over the disputed territory of Kashmir, which is crawling with jihadists. Hooda’s tweet was referring, albeit testily, to patterns that are unfolding in Canada. Although there are many other ways that Hooda could have constructively expressed his disapproval, he wasn’t off base in his basic concerns.
In dissecting Hooda’s tweet and possible reasons for his upset, most people should know by now what the Islamic veil for women represents (see Quran 24:31 and 33:59) and the problems surrounding it, which have led to bans on the veil even in majority-Muslim countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Chad. Most people should also know the advances made by Islamic supremacists in Canada, especially under anti-Islamophobia motion M-103, a motion which continues to be used as a pretext for punishments against any offense to Islam in the country. The followup to M-103 has included “taking action” to crack down on “Islamophobia,” monitoring citizens for compliance and training law enforcement to investigate “hate speech,” under the guidance of questionable groups including the NCCM and Islamic Relief. As for Hooda’s reference to “allowing slaughter of animals at home in the name of sacrifice,” how quickly we forget. During Eid, a gruesome cow slaughter on private property near Toronto caused an uproar.
Did Hooda deserve to be fired without discussion or reprimand? That question calls for a discussion, but Canada no longer welcomes discussion. It is no longer a country of genuine “diversity,” much less “dialogue,” despite what it proclaims, since the very meaning of dialogue incorporates space for differing viewpoints. Dissenting views about Islam are automatically deemed to be rooted in “hate,” no matter how important and accurate the points raised. Conversations about Islam have been silenced, unless they boast about Islam being a religion of peace and ignore the global realities of rampant human rights abuses committed in the name of Islam, including the barbaric laws and policies which are enshrined in Islamic jurisprudence. Many of these have now entered Western countries, prompting a bill by the former Canadian Conservative government entitled “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Practices Act,” which was nixed when the Liberals won the 2015 election.
A recent example involving federal Liberal riding association executive Mark Elyas illustrates how low Canada has sunk. Elyas agreed “100%” with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte that those who defy coronavirus lockdowns should be shot on sight. He said he would also like to see “snipers posted everywhere,” and thinks Trump supporters should lose custody of their children and be exiled to detention camps. Elyas has faced no consequences for his hateful incitement.
Some food for thought as Canada begins to endure listening to the adhan from mosques over loudspeakers proclaiming that “Allah is greater.. I testify that there is no God but Allah”:
In Canada, Tablighis have become a major force in the Islamic reform movement. Virtually every mosque in Toronto has at one time or another hosted members of the group, often travelling from Pakistan to preach and convert Canadian Muslims to the “true Islam.”
“Reform movement” in this context refers to the same kind of “reform” as that advocated by the Muslim Brotherhood. An undetermined number of mosques in Canada, and in the U.S. as well, have been spreading the jihad ideology. They are often funded by foreign interests such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey. The India-based Tablighi Jamaat is an Islamic revival movement that is exponentially growing. The group is rooted in the hardline Deobandi sect. While claiming to be peaceful, Tablighi Jamaat is tied to al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Kashmir jihadis. The publication Stratfor, “a reputed geopolitical intelligence platform, published a detailed report on the Tablighi Jamaat and its links to the world of Global Jihad.” The report also included “evidence of ‘indirect connections’ between the Jamaat and anti-Shiite sectarian groups, Kashmiri terrorists and the Taliban.”
Not everyone is prepared to be dictated to by kowtowing politicians. Nor is everyone willing to sacrifice Canada on the altar of identity politics in the name of “diversity,” “tolerance,” and in some cases even “Christianity.” There is now pushback against amending a noise bylaw to allow for the adhan in the city of Mississauga. So now another motion to reconsider has been brought forth to the city’s diversity committee, after “thousands of members of the public have provided their unsolicited feedback to members of council and the city clerk.”
And separately, Canadian citizen Ram Subrahmanian is now preparing a constitutional challenge to the bylaw, which will set a needed precedent all over the country:
Subrahmanian’s Facebook movement to help raise funds and support his challenge already has over seven thousand members. In 2017, the no-nonsense Subrahmanian led a protest against Friday prayers at Peel District School Board near Toronto. Once again, Amira Elghawaby spoke out against opposition to the Jummah prayers, saying it was being “manipulated in order to drive wedges between communities instead of bringing them together.”
Without any pushback, Islamic supremacists will continue to divide the country, run rings around leaders who cave to identity politics, and intimidate detractors by accusing them of “racism” and “Islamophobia.”