Oh. Dear. Me.
Here in Canada? Why yes, here in Canada, as also elsewhere in North America and in Europe at large. Canada is no different, just a little slow in catching up, as it were. In any event, this is not new in Canada. What is new is that YouTube has proven to be an instrument of visibility, bringing such events to the close attention of people at large. It's disturbing, to be sure. And should be taken seriously. Simply because this is an issue of the most serious import.Fire and brimstone raining down like a deadly scourge. In the hopes that the words issuing from the irate mouth of a Toronto-based imam would lift directly to the heavens and be absorbed by Allah, who will then smite the offenders. Except they're not called, politely, offenders. According to Imam Saed Rageah at the Abu Huraira Centre, the hateful prodding of the ignorant, the "infidels" attempting to ban the niqab and burka from the wardrobe of Muslim women warrants a "damning".
"Allah protect us from the fitna [sedition] of these people; Allah protect us from the evil agenda of these people; Allah destroy them from within themselves, and do not allow them to raise their heads in destroying Islam." To champion the right of women to refuse to swaddle themselves within a moving tent, ensuring that no man can peer at their physical features, much less eyes, nose, lips, is commensurate with destroying Islam, evidently.
Such a friable, vulnerable religion. Hardly to be compared to the Islam that presents itself courtesy of fanatical Islamist jihadists, then! Who knew?
Well, Tarek Fatah, for one. Once head of the Canadian Muslim Congress, resigned because of death threats, and now merely a spokesman for moderate Muslims within Canada. It was, indeed, the Canadian Muslim Congress which called on the government to institute a legal ban on the public wearing of the burka or niqab. Pointing out an often-remarked anomaly of perception; that nowhere in the Koran does a requirement for women to cover their faces in public, exist.
"The cleric's ritual prayer asking for the defeat of Christians and Jews and the victory of Islam is not unique. It is uttered by many clerics across Canada spreading hate instead of harmony. There should be no room in Canada's mosques for such hatred, especially when most of these institutions get [tax-free status]", explained Mr. Fatah.
Imam Saed Rageah raged, in his 35-minute sermon, against Muslims fraternizing with "kuffars". Angry that members of his community would find friends outside the Muslim community. "You will see a lot of them going to the kuffar, taking them as friends and allies. The wrath of Allah is upon them. If they were true believers they would never take them as allies."
Well. Indeed.
Personally, it matters little to me if Muslim women garb themselves in a tent. If this makes them comfortable, so be it. But it does matter, greatly, that we harbour such hate-filled isolationists in Canadian society. We should legislate to remove individuals such as this imam, lest he commit further harm to the good relations between the various communities within the country.
We can afford to be generous about someone's preferred wardrobe. We cannot afford to turn away from dangerously offensive invitations to violent discord.
Labels: Canada, Political Realities, Social-Cultural Deviations, Traditions
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, October 22, 2009
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