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September 14, 2011

Ezra Levant smears Islam and Muslims

The Canadian Charger

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Ezra Levant is a Zionist who believes that every Jew has a birthright to settle in Israel; an apartheid state created for Jews only at the expense of native Palestinians. To serve his ideology Levant regularly smears Islam and Muslims.

In keeping with Sun TV News' claim to present “straight talk and hard news” Levant expresses his outrage, on the network, over a $150,000 grant the Ontario government – funded Trillium Foundation issued to the North American Muslim Foundation (NAMF), to renovate a gym in a culturally sensitive way. 

After describing NAMF as a radical Muslim group that brings in hate preachers, Mr. Levant said:  “NAMF is a platform for extremism, including anti-Semitism and even justification for terrorist attacks.”

NAMF Director Farooq Khan said this is not true. “He has accused us of providing a platform for terrorism. If this is true, we have broken the law. If any illegal or criminal act has occurred why has no legal action been taken? We're a 38-year-old organization. CISIS, the RCMP and the police know us very well.”

Moreover, in order to let both sides of the dispute air their views publicly, Mr. Khan said NAMF is preparing to invite the “hate monger” Ezra Levant to come and speak in a debate.

“If it's within the parameters of the law, it's fair game. Freedom of expression is a fundamental right. Let's practice it.”

Citing NAMF's interfaith and intercultural dialogue on housing and homelessness, at the Multi-Faith Centre, at the University of Toronto, as an example, Mr. Khan said: “We will continue to use our pen and good character to do good work in society.”

Comments such as those expressed by Mr. Levant are fearmongering and hate preaching, Mr. Khan said, which give the impression that NAMF, and Muslims in general, are a danger to society and that they are out to take over.

“How can we take over when we're only three per cent of the population?” he asked.

Mr. Levant cites comments by Imam Abdullah Hakim Quick – an honoured guest in a recent series of lectures at NAMF – as an example of extremist views being propagated by NAMF.

Mr. Khan agrees that Imam Quick said that Islam's position on homosexuality is that they should be put to death, but Mr. Khan said Imam Quick's remarks were taken out of context. He said he was responding to a question as to what would be the punishment in an Islamic state, and Mr. Khan added that there are no Islamic states in the world today.

Mr. Levant quotes Imam Quick as saying “For Jews, gays Kaffirs - that's a dirty word.nonbelievers -  they're filth.”

Mr. Khan responded that he has never heard Imam Quick say these things. “I've known Imam Quick for 25 years and he's a reasonable person.”

Apparently officials at the Toronto Board of Education concur, as they hired Imam Quick as a special advisor.

Mr. Khan added that just because one of NAMF's guests expresses an opinion doesn't necessarily mean that he agrees with it or NAMF supports it, in the same way that the majority on the right of the political spectrum don't necessarily agree with every comment a right-wing spokesperson makes.

Mr. Khan said the ultimate goal of Mr. Levant and his ilk – including several well-known right-wing spokespeople such as Mark Steyn and Daniel Pipes – is to annihilate Muslims in the west, nothing less.

“They want to cleanse western society of this “filth” called Islam,” Mr. Khan said, adding that with the economy in recession, Muslims are being used as scapegoats. “They are the cause of it.”

In this regard, he sees parallels to the Japanese situation in Canada during World War II, when they were put in camps and had their property confiscated.

“It only takes one resolution in parliament: 'This is a matter of national security and civil liberties are being suspended.' “

Meanwhile, taking issue with the term “culturally sensitive, Mr. Levant said he asked NAMF what that meant, but got no reply. Mr. Khan said NAMF hasn't received any request for information from Mr. Levant.

Filling the apparent information void, Mr. Levant offered his own speculations as to what the term might mean.

“Did it mean keeping in compliance with Sharia law and enforcing gender apartheid so that there would be one area for women and one for men and maybe a mixed area where women have to wear burkhas,” adding that girls who are having their periods must inform the Imam and they are then put in a third group.

Mr. Khan said culturally sensitive means people can't drink, take drugs or swear and men will use the gym on their time and women will use it on theirs.

He noted that in public schools boys and girls have separate gym classes and separate sex education classes and in the society at large we have separate gyms for women.

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