To: Nick.Whalen@parl.gc.ca, Alaina.Lockhart@parl.gc.ca, Matthew.Dube@parl.gc.ca, David.Graham@parl.gc.ca, Jean.Rioux@parl.gc.ca, Bryan.May@parl.gc.ca, Mike.Bossio@parl.gc.ca, Bob.Nault@parl.gc.ca, Deb.Schulte@parl.gc.ca, Marc.Serre@parl.gc.ca, Kim.Rudd@parl.gc.ca, Maryann.Mihychuk@parl.gc.ca, Sonia.Sidhu@parl.gc.ca, Dan.Ruimy@parl.gc.ca

 

Dear Sir or Madame,

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First off, thank you very much for your service as a Member of Parliament. I acknowledge that this is particularly noteworthy in your instance as you have managed to secure a rural riding for a Party that is better known for its cosmopolitan appeal. In doing so, your sense of duty and selflessness, in the face of such narrow margins of victory, are manifestly obvious.

 

As a hard-working, down-to-earth politician, I know you simply reflect the character of your riding and its constituents. I also know that these same citizens are deeply concerned with direction of the current government regards its unsubstantiated charges that Canada is “systemically racist” and Canadians are “religious discriminators” steeped in “Islamophobia”. After all, the traditional bent of your constituents is well known and central to the nationwide uprising that is pushing back against such accusations. Given the threat that the “Islamophobia” phenomena poses to free speech rights along with your Party’s stubborn support for the use of the term as a recognized ground of discrimination in human rights law, the call to institute a “National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia” must give you pause.

 

There can be little doubt that the concerns of your constituents over the “Islamophobia” narrative are justified. They are corroborated by testimony submitted by a wide variety of experts to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage as part of the Motion M-103 study process. This testimony includes that from:

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• Tarek Fatah who was emphatic in stating that the acceptance of Islamophobia as a form of religious discrimination was akin to denying Canadian Muslims the right to defend themselves from the religious bigots he called ‘the mullahs’”;

• Yasmine Mohammed, the former wife of an al Qaeda operative, who asserted that the term Islamophobia is about protecting the religion of Islam rather than those who practise it;

• Farzana Hassan, Author and Columnist, who stated that the term Islamophobia was part and parcel of a Muslim narrative controlled by fundamentalist voices seeking special accommodation for the religion of Islam and "political Islam"; and

• Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, who expressed the opinion that Islamic regimes and Islamist organizations use “Islamophobia” as a weapon to restrict free speech.

 

In addition, these concerns have been manifested in the European context where the fight against “Islamophobia” has been raging since its inception in the mid 1990’s. In Sweden, senior citizens are being charged criminally with “hate speech” for commenting on migrant lawlessness. In Britain, “Asian” rape gangs in Rotherham and Telford escape scrutiny from police forces that are afraid of being labelled Islamophobic and racist. In Germany, photojournalists are charged and jailed for six months for simply publishing a photograph depicting a WWII Nazi official with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Is there really any reason to believe that the introduction of “Islamophobia” into the Canadian human rights lexicon will not result in the same curtailment of Canadian free speech rights?

 

I implore you to consider distancing yourself from your Party’s position on the dangerous Islamophobia narrative. You can affect this distance by voting against the Heritage Committee recommendation to institute a “National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia”. This recommendation is before the government now and rejecting it will benefit fundamental Canadian rights and the best interests of your constituents - even as you remain faithful to their traditions and sensibilities.

 

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