Canada: Islamic Canadians: Anti-terrorist Canadian Muslims are of two different voices on cooperation with CSIS

Canadian Muslims are of two different voices, leaving aside the pro-terrorism group and its sympathizers among the young and others. Those Muslims in Canada, whether citizens or legal immigrants, who are beginning to stand up to the pressure and blackmail of the small hardcore pro-terrorist minority among them, remain divided apparently between the assist-CSIS mainstream and and the obstruct-CSIS radicals who still claim and probably in their own are positive toward Canada herself, in all the breadth and vagueness of the wonderful appelation.

In an editorial in today's Toronto Sun, enitlted Islam is not to blame, July 25, 2005, the writer/s

In Canada, more than 120 Islamic religious leaders issued a declaration last week denouncing acts of terrorism as a "perversion" of their faith.

"Anyone who claims to be a Muslim and participates in any way in the taking of innocent life is betraying the very spirit and letter of Islam," said the statement, read by Shaikh Ahmad Kutty of the Islamic Institute of Toronto.

In Ottawa, Imam Gamal Solaiman added his voice, calling on all Muslims to challenge and confront extremism and hate. "We do not want to be hijacked by a few crazy persons," he said. "We want to reassure our fellow Canadians that all Muslims aren't crazy. Our community cannot accept acts of violence."

This what I'm calling the mainstream anti-terrorist Canadian Muslim community. May God bless them for joining in our common civic duty to keep this land as free of violence, especially of the terrorist kind, as we together possibly can. I feel confident in this attitude because the Sun's editorial continues, including this statement, The Declaration of the 120 Islamic religious leaders "included a pledge of willingness not only to denounce extremism in the Canadian Muslim community, but to work with the RCMP and CSIS in identifying extremists here. That stance is reassuring, but it is not unanimous for other Imams and Islamic religious leaders, apparently.

Colin Freeze reports in The Globe & Mail today, Imam warns Ottawa to back off Muslims, July 25, 2005.

A controversial Toronto imam warned Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan at a closed-door meeting to stop "terrorizing" Canadian Muslims.

"If you try to cross the line I can't guarantee what is going to happen. Our young people, we can't control," Aly Hindy, the head of Scarborough's Salaheddin Islamic Centre, recalls telling the minister at the May meeting she held in Toronto with dozens of Muslim leaders.

The meeting was part of an effort by Ms. McLellan to reach out to Canadian Muslims amid complaints that the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service are engaging in racial profiling.

Mr. Hindy claims not only that the Mounties and the CSISers have been poking around his activities, his family, and his mosque for some time, but that apparently in recent times a Muslim woman of his knowledge was ruffed up by "Canadian spies." However, there are many reasons why "spies" would isolate a woman and interfere with her; how sure is Mr Hindy who wasn't at the alleged event that the spies were "Canadian" in an official way that points to the RCMP or CSIS?

After making the above points at the meeting with Ms. McLellan, the report goes on about Imam Hindy:

Several people who attended shrugged off the imam's remarks, but some Muslims and government agents later approached Mr. Hindy asking him to explain himself.

"The police came to me and said, 'This is a kind of threat,' and I said yes," he said. "But it's for the good of this country."

"And they said, 'Do you know some of the names of those people you expect to cause some problems?' And I said, 'You just open the telephone directory.' "

While government investigators probing the woman's complaint told Mr. Hindy they have not found evidence of wrongdoing, he isn't giving the spy service the benefit of the doubt.

"We believe CSIS should stop terrorizing us," he says in a flyer he is circulating to mosques. "CSIS is powerless. CSIS has no authority over you. If CSIS agents come to your door, do not open [it] for them."

'You just open the telephone directory.' - now isn't Mr Hindy doing here his own racial profiling? And if his statement be true, then isn't it folly for the RCMP and CSIS not to follow suite?

• Mr Hindy "isn't giving the spy service the benefit of the doubt." To whom does he give the benefit of the doubt? Can the rest of his community and can all of the rest of us afford not to give the Mounties and CSIS generally "the benefit of the doubt" when someone tries to obstruct their work on behalf of us all? If a case comes up, with witnesses and documentation, then it can be investigated. If it's just a matter of a visit and an allegation, who knows who's telling the truth? Mr Hindy in the case of the woman allegedly ruffed up, doesn't seem to claim to be a witness, nor does he cite any others. Why does he believe the woman? Because he has a long history of paranoia vis à vis Canada's security officials? Maybe it's Mr Hindy's background that needs more thoro investigation by the press. I have no reason in the face of his allegations to untilt my general bias in favour of the Mounties and CSIS.

• Mr Hindy: "If CSIS agents come to your door, do not open [it] for them." Okay, you don't have to let them in without a warrant or something. But read Mr Hindy's words more closely, and notice that the reporter supplied the word "it." Now, I think a better reading would be "don't open for them." Don't open your mouth, don't open your heart, don't give them any information. All they may get from us Muslims is the telphone directory. Imam Hindy is an obstructionist; he doesn't want to help Canada's official security agencies get on with their work in anti-terorrism with the help of Canadian Muslims. Notice that this obstructionist line, pretends to be with the mainstream of Canadian Muslims, but it exaggerates and stereotypes our Canadian security personnel in a way that allows, even requires, those who want to follow Imam's teachings, not to cooperate in bringing Muslim terrorists to account - neither for the good of the rest of Canadian Muslims, nor for the good of their neighbours, all of us living cooperatively in what should be a terrorism-free Canada.

When Imam Aly Hindi claims that the RCMP and CSIS are "terrorists," he is giving out disinformation to his own community, abd escalating the rhetoric of complaint against any misbehaviour of individual security personnel beyond all crediblity. We should reject these techniques out of hand; and we should redouble our efforts to be welcoming and friendly to Canada's Muslims who are neither much of the Hindist school nor of the terrorist sleeper cells in this country. - Politicarp