PM Justin Trudeau:
Judi McLeod , Bio and Archives--February 10, 2017
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“Its first point is to “recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear.” What a vague and unsubstantiated sentence. This is lawmaking, folks, not social justice warrior blogging. “The motion then goes on to direct MPs to take note of a petition on the government’s website that was signed by tens of thousands of Canadians. “Recently, an infinitesimally small number of extremist individuals have conducted terrorist activities while claiming to speak for the religion of Islam,” petition E-411 notes. “Their actions have been used as a pretext for a notable rise of anti-Muslim sentiments in Canada.” “It continues: “These violent individuals do not reflect in any way the values of the teachings of all the religion of Islam. In fact, they misrepresent the religion. We categorically reject all their activities. They in no way represent the religion, the beliefs and the desire of Muslims to co-exist in peace with all peoples of the world.” “Then — and here’s where the trouble really takes root — the petition says “we ... call upon the House of Commons to join us in recognizing that extremist individuals do not represent the religion of Islam, and in condemning all forms of Islamophobia.” “Hang on a second ... first they’re talking about terrorists but then they end with “extremist individuals.” Not the same thing. Not at all. You can be an extremist, a radical, a supremacist, without being a terrorist. “The ummah isn’t a binary world of a few terrorists on one side and then over a billion moderate liberals on the other. There’s a massive grey area that holds severely orthodox values completely at odds with the West. And we should all feel free to call them out for it. “But you can see how denouncing a radical imam for his Shariah advocacy could end up being considered, in the eyes of this motion, an Islamophobic act that’s a part of this alleged uptick in public fear. This is an attempt to silence rational critics of political Islam.”
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