October 4, 2011
Re: Ezra Levant smears Islam and Muslims and 9/11 coverage
Janet Desroches and Kyle Carruthers
Dear Editor
Thanks for your article on Ezra Levant and nicely putting him in his place.
Janet Desroches
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I don't think there is much doubt amongst reasonable people that Ezra Levant is an extremist on the issue of Islam as well as many other issues.
However I must take issue with part of The Canadian Charger's tacit defence of Imam Quick:
"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."
With respect the "context" of Imam's statement adds almost nothing that could assuage concerns held by western liberals--whose support Muslims need to combat the extreme anti-Muslim sentiment on the far right--about Islamic homophobia. Does the Canadian Charger honestly think that it makes westerners more comfortable that the views expressed by Imam Quick are not his own but rather are Islamic doctrine and would only be carried out in the context of an Islamic state?
- Nothing could be more detrimental to the integration of Muslims into Canadian society than losing those important allies on the centre-left who are equally concerned about conservative religious attitudes towards homosexuals and homosexuality as they are about the more extreme anti-Muslim attitudes held by the likes of Ezra Levant.
In future I would hope that the Canadian Charger would use more care to avoid the appearance that it is offering any form of support to homophobia and homophobes--particularly in the context of discussions of the state conducted murder of homosexuals.
Kyle Carruthers
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Re: your coverage the 9/11 Toronto hearings and
You're starting to be real cutting edge. Although sometimes I'm disappointed by your super moderate stance with respect to hot issues, today I was pleased to read both the article about 9/11, (which finished with a beautiful and meaningful statement) and the account of the events around the G20.
Bravo and Bravo, you made it simple to understand, and it became abundantly clear that there was a lot of buck passing and both Blair and McGuinty gave the police of all stripes the green light to vent their spleen on the people who were asking for more accountability and sharing of the earth's resources.
Janet Desroches
