First they came for Steyn/Levant ... but they are only warming up

The terrible tragedy in this war is the basic understanding of the enemy. The premise is wrong and so everything that is subsequently deduced is wrong and dangerous. Terror front groups like CAIR should be exposed, indicted, and made a pariah by the society at large. Those on the front lines  of the quiet but deadly jihad should be revered. Instead, the courageous souls that should exalted and supported are relegated to the outer rings of the national discourse. Wafa, Ayaan, Warraq live under constant threat of death and must employ 24 hour security to stay alive.

 

Those that dare to speak out become victims of lawfare and vile smear campaigns: MARK STEYN IS LIKE A NEO-NAZI WAR CRIMINAL.

Looks like they tried to do to the Star (a usual supporter of Islamic bullying) what they did to Macleans/ Steyn at the Human Rights Commissions ...... but rest assured they are only warming up. There is a jihad against free speech.

Taboo topic sparks critical debate Kathy English The Star

I

n the month since the Star published its investigation into the secret world of polygamy in our community, reporter Noor Javed has braved a firestorm of criticism.

So too has the Star itself, with several complaints about Javed's groundbreaking articles about polygamy within the Muslim community in the GTA coming to the public editor's office. I've spent considerable time looking into these concerns and I think that the Star's reporting on this was accurate, fair and balanced.

I also believe it was a courageous act of journalism for Javed, a Muslim woman who has written illuminating articles for the Star in the past about her spiritual journey to Mecca to fulfill the holy Muslim pilgrimage called the hajj, and also about her choice to wear the Muslim head scarf, the hijab.

As a journalist and a "visible" Muslim who chose to expose evidence of polygamy within the GTA's Muslim community, Javed well knew she would come under fire. But she also believed that reporting on this controversial, "taboo" issue, which is clearly illegal in Canadian law, could spark critical debate among Canadians.

I, however, was surprised by the personal attacks against her. Javed's commitment to her faith has been questioned by other Muslims and some have even suggested it was improper for a Muslim reporter to report on this.

One "open letter" that came to my office, the Star's letters page, and is now circulating in the online blogosphere, accuses Javed of demonizing Islam itself. "If your intention was to spark debate on polygamy in the community then the Toronto Star was not the forum for it," the letter states. "There is already ample anti-Islamic sentiment in the world and it is not befitting for a Muslim to add to it.

"As a Muslim woman, you had an Islamic obligation, to defend this aspect of your faith, not to deliver a further blow to an already bruised community."

While many North American Muslims have widely, and sometimes justly, criticized the media for anti-Islamic bias in the days since 9/11,

Huh? Here English wusses out and attempts to bow -- the media never criticizes Isalm - hellooooo.  That's why you got slammed English. You can forget all those media outlets that printed the Danish cartoons?

I don't think the Star's reporting on polygamy was either anti-Islamic or unfair. Javed spent several months investigating this, talking to dozens of people including four local Muslim women who believe they have been victimized by polygamy. This has not been about "airing dirty laundry," as some have accused Javed of doing, but of airing these concerns.

Javed's reporting put the issue into context, explaining the perspective on polygamy of both the Muslim faith and Canadian law. She wrote that while polygamy is generally among the "last taboos" in Western society, it's practised in more than 850 societies worldwide, including within the fundamentalist Mormon community in Bountiful, B.C. She also spoke to several legal experts who believe polygamy will soon be forced to face a constitutional challenge.

But as Star columnist and editor emeritus Haroon Siddiqui also pointed out in a follow-up column to Javed's articles, those practising polygamy in Canada are breaking the law as it now stands: "Muslims are obliged to obey the law of the land where they live" he wrote.

Aly Hindy, the iman of Saluhuddin Islamic Centre who openly told Javed that he has "blessed" numerous polygamous unions, now accuses the Star of bias against the Muslim community. In an email to several hundred people, now posted online, Hindy's son, Ibrahim, states that the Star has an "agenda" to "caricature" the Muslim community and Hindy as "backwards, as anti-women and even anarchist ..."

Comments

[Gail S]

Is anyone bringing a case to the commission that the Koran contains considerable hate speech? If what Mr. Steyn wrote constitutes hate speech, I am certain that it would be very easy to prove that the Koran contains considerable hate speech, inducements to murder and denigrate people, to murder and rape children, etc.

The law works both ways, it is just a matter of doing the paperwork. There is no chance of the same law being used against the Torah or New Testament for the simple reason that neither of these books foments hatred. While they do report on despicable events that occurred in the past, neither book instructs people to commit crimes against other people. These are true religious texts.

The more I think about it, this kangaroo court can probably be used against a great deal of liberal art and literature. How about all of the Bush bashing...anyone see any "hate" there? Bringing up those lawsuits would probably go a very long way toward eliminating this nonsense.

Best regards,
Gail S