Boreal

"Islam is peace" George W. Bush

Islamophobia

Two Definitions

Wiki defines a phobia as “an irrational fear”. Therefore, a straightforward definition of Islamophobia is “an irrational fear of the religion of Islam”.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s definition is not as succinct or to the point:

Negative stereotyping and discrimination as a result of pre-existing perception of Muslims as “different” from the rest of Canadian society, along with negative association of their communities with violence and terrorism.

I suspect that the Parliamentary Committee (Canadian Heritage) tasked with substantiating the accusation made by Ms. Khalid of rampant Islamophobia among Canadians will adopt the convoluted misleading definition, or a variation thereof, of the organization most responsible for the confusion that now exist about the separation of Church and State.

The First Accommodation

The Submission

The less deserving a religious icon’s reputation for propriety, the louder will be the call to silence his critics.

Is a fear of Islam a legitimate fear and are Canadians being unfairly maligned for voicing their apprehension? That is the question Islamophobia, my submission to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Motion 103, tries to answer.

To counter the inevitable accusations of racism I have included in my submission to the Committee the story of my friendship with a black working girl from West Africa.

I could also have reminisced about Audrey, but she had nothing to do with my future desire to get close and personal with a holy book; the same for my Indian damsel in distress. Then there are my recollections about how Sohrab and I became friends and my time with Bob and Marina.

I will admit to not including the story about how a priest saved my life which may have betrayed an agnostic’s bias towards the teachings of one man in a submission which is very much about religion and how we must remain on guard against the worst it has to offer.

Bernard Payeur

The difference between an islamist and a jihadist and why you should be more worried about the former!

Of those who swear by the Book, the most dangerous are probably those whom Maajid Nawaz, author of Radical, My Journey out of Islamist Extremism labels “Political Islamists”

Islamism is commonly expressed as the desire to enforce a version of Shari’ah as law … An Islamist attempts to impose his version of Islam on society, and a jihadist is an Islamist who attempts to do so by force … Political Islamists seek to impose their views through the ballot box, biding their time until they can infiltrate the institutions of society from within.

Our Parliaments is one place where you will find them, but it is in the school system where intimidation of compliant officials has proven as effective as electing your own that this infiltration is the most worrisome.

The Escalating Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Kids

Bernard Payeur