Boreal
A Madrassa's Role Model
Ahlul-Bayt Center madrassa was in the news in March of 2005 after a student
wrote an essay, praised by his teachers, about killing Israelis. The story was displayed in a glass case at the school. After the Ottawa Citizen published excerpts from the essay, which the
newspaper had translated from Arabic into English, two teachers were suspended.
The story was dismissed as a student's misguided fantasy and the incident was quickly forgotten.
When this story appeared, a guide for students as to whom to consult on matters of faith and Islamic law included a link on Ahlul-Bayt Center's Home page which displayed a list of Islamic scholars. The top scholar on that list was none other than Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran.
Here is what the Supreme Leader had to say on his web page about an Israeli incursion into GAZA.
On Sunday February 1, Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Mashaal met with IAyatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei to deliver report on the “Gaza's 22-day war won by the Islamic Resistance as well as the war-related political developments.”
Ayatollah Khamenei offered congratulations on the victory of Islamic Resistance over the Zionist enemy in the Gaza war and said "the Gaza people and the Islamic Resistance conferred honor on all of us and got through the great, demanding test by their perseverance.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the landmark victory of the Gaza people against the Zionist regime's army was a tribute to their faith.
Ayatollah Khamenei appreciated the perseverance of the Mujahid brother Ismail Haniya, Premier of the Palestinian government and prayed God to make the victory a prelude to further victories in future under the auspices of the Palestinian faith and jihad.
Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran's President Ahmandinejad have a pathological hatred of the Jews, and an inveterate hatred of America for its support of Israel. Both, would, given the opportunity, wipe the Jewish state of the map. Iran will shortly have the capability of doing just that (read MAD Checkmated).
If push does come to shove, and the Americans have to step in to stop the Iranians from committing genocide, will they have the support of the graduates of Ahlul-Bayt Center and other students of Canadian madrassas whose heroes are the leaders of countries with which the West has deadly serious concerns, and with whom we may find ourselves at war.
Bernard Payeur, February 13, 2009
November 17, 2012
Since this posting first appeared in 2009, the Ahlul-Bayt Center's web site has gone through a number of transformations including increasing its Arabic content.
April 18, 2016
The school's mission statement circa 2007:
In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Merciful Ahlul-Bayt Center is calling on every believer, who heard about the school project, to have a stake in the heavenly awards generated by a work meant to educate Muslim kids about their faith and moral values. May Allah include us all in his mercy and redeem our work by his awards. It is every Muslim's duty to support and preserve the Islamic schools in Ottawa and other cities. The bottom line is that a sincere Islamic education counts in raising Muslim kids based on Quranic teachings and Islamic Moral values.
Are the “Quranic” (sic) teachings and Islamic moral values that this type of school, whether it be in Iran, Pakistan or Canada, claims it will instill in the mind of a child the type of values that you share? Do you believe that these types of values are even deserving of being called “moral values”?
If moral values are defined as being generally accepted standards of good conduct, is what was done to women and girls in Afghanistan what you would consider examples of good conduct?
Is what the Koran teaches about mercy and compassion – that some people are not deserving of any for simply not believing in god or the same god you do – morally reprehensible or morally justifiable?
Do you consider it morally acceptable that women and girls can be sexually assaulted as long as it is done in a marriage setting?
Do you consider it morally acceptable that a wife can be beaten by her husband if he fears she is going to sin or has sinned?
Do you consider it morally acceptable that males are taught that females are their inferior and females are instructed to accept this lesser status because the God of the Koran says that is the way it must be?
These are important questions. Your future, the future of your children may depend on your response to the real moral and ethical dilemma raised by what is being taught in madrassas.