Tarek Fatah is pictured in a June 16, 2017 file photo.
Brace yourselves, parliamentarians. Tarek Fatah is coming to town! The popular Toronto-based Sun columnist and media personality is trekking up to Ottawa to testify at the controversial M-103 hearings being held by the heritage committee on Wednesday. Fatah will be the first major speaker following Liberal MP Iqra Khalid’s Monday appearance that started off the whole process. He’s been a firm critic of the motion that singles out the ill-defined phrase Islamophobia for possible special treatment in its bid to tackle discrimination, writing columns across the Sun chain on the issue. “I hope to make the MPs realize that if they include the words ‘denouncing Islamophobia’ in their proposals, they will infringe on the inalienable right of Muslim Canadians to critique our religion as has been the rich tradition that has been stifled by Mullahs, Kings and Caliphs by murdering us,” Fatah said Tuesday in advance of the committee hearing. “Their recommendations must recognize the right of a Muslim to publicly challenge what is rotten in Islamdom and to fight our clergy in the tradition of Martin Luther and Erasmus and before them the 10th century Persian Muslim saint Mansoor Hallaj, beheaded on Islamophobia charges by Mullahs of the time.” Good luck to any MPs planning to grapple with Fatah in question period after his remarks. The award-winning author doesn’t shy away from controversy. Earlier this year, a bounty was placed on Fatah’s head for promoting a liberal version of Islam on a popular show he hosted on Indian television. He never backed down. Fatah’s testimony is set to commence Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. EDT and can be watched live on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s website at ourcommons.ca.
This article was originally published on the Toronto Sun website and can be viewed on their site by clicking here.