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Many, many times over the years I have pointed out that voices of moderation or reform within Islamic communities are at a distinct disadvantage because the Qur'an and Sunnah are against them: in the old standby phrase, there are moderate Muslims, but Islam itself is not moderate. Also, because of the Islamic mandates that apostates, blasphemers, and heretics must be killed -- mandates which are also rooted in the Qur'an and the teachings of Muhammad -- these reformers are often threatened and sometimes actually killed by Muslims who believe they have strayed from the Noble Path.
Here is another example of this: Tarek Fatah has challenged traditional Islamic teaching on homosexuality and other matters, and now he has received death threats credible enough in content and numerous enough to bring him to resign his position. It is bitterly ironic that Western non-Muslim observers who know little or nothing of Islam assume that voices of liberalism and reform like Fatah are the dominant mainstream within Islamic communities in the West and elsewhere, and excoriate people like me for "ignoring" them. The reality, however, is that people like Fatah are, despite their popularity among Westerners who like to pride themselves on their "tolerance," only marginally influential among Muslims, and are, above all, hunted men.
"Fearing for safety, Muslim official quits," from the Globe and Mail, with thanks to Mentat:
Tarek Fatah, the outspoken, controversial communications director of the Muslim Canadian Congress, has resigned, citing concerns for his safety and that of his family.Mr. Fatah said he will also resign from the MCC's board, severing all official ties with the organization he helped found.
"It's not just for me. It's for my wife and my daughters," he said in an interview.
"Part of it is also to get out of the limelight."
Mr. Fatah's socially liberal views have always been controversial within the Muslim community, and in the past month he has been the subject of an e-mail campaign aimed at the Canadian news media....
Along with his resignation, Mr. Fatah has filed a report with Toronto Police detailing what he says are a number of threats he has received since 2003. A police investigation is under way....
Mr. Fatah has always carried a high profile, both with the Muslim Canadian Congress -- known for its liberal interpretations of Islam, including its support of homosexuality -- and as the host of Muslim Chronicle, a CTS TV current-affairs show that focuses on the Muslim community.
But in recent months, he said, he has been coming under increasing fire. There was the e-mail campaign and he is more worried than ever about threats after the arrests of 17 terrorism suspects in Toronto in early June.
Mr. Fatah's unpopularity among conservative segments of the Muslim community is not surprising. He is a strong advocate of gay rights for Muslims and the inclusion of secular voices in the Muslim community. He publicly and vehemently opposed the adoption of sharia law in Canada.
Recently, many Muslims were angered by his very vocal campaign against British imam Sheik Riyadh ul Haq, who ultimately was refused a visa to attend a conference in Toronto. Mr. Haq's address was transmitted live by satellite instead.
Many Muslims have also accused Mr. Fatah of hogging the media spotlight.
He is frequently a subject of animated discussions on blogs and Internet chat forums, and early last month, a student group based in Montreal began bombarding five news outlets -- The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, CBC and CTV -- with e-mails insisting that he does not represent the Muslim community and should not be recognized as a legitimate voice.
Mr. Fatah was quick to respond to accusations about his views.
"My position is that same-sex marriage is a human right and whether someone believes it is valid from a religious perspective is not the question. Most Muslims do not believe homosexuality is permitted but that is not the question," he said.
Mr. Fatah has fiercely advocated for a separation of church and state, although he said he has no issue with sharia arbitration as long as it is not part of the state legal system....
On June 30, Mr. Fatah was identified by the Canadian Islamic Congress as one of four people who are anti-Islam in an article in the CIC's weekly Friday Magazine, which is sent to e-mail subscribers. The article, "Smearing Islam and Bashing Muslims, Who and Why," was penned by Mohamed Elmasry, the CIC's director and an adjunct professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo.
The list, which also included Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente, was led by Mr. Fatah, whom Dr. Elmasry wrote "is well known in Canada for smearing Islam and bashing Muslims."
Dr. Elmasry levelled similar accusations against the Muslim Canadian Congress last October.
Mr. Fatah said he is concerned because he understands the implication of statements such as "anti-Islam" and "smearing Islam."
He said they are akin to fatwas, pronouncing blasphemy, a crime that under sharia law is punishable by death.
"Anyone can issue a fatwa," Mr. Fatah said. " And anyone can issue a counter-fatwa. There is no clergy that oversees the process. This is a complete hijacking of the system, and everyone is complicit."
Wahida Valiante, vice-chair and national vice-president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, said there are "different versions and different ideologies" when asked whether the assertion amounted to a fatwa.
"We're not into fatwas," she said. "We are not a religious body. We are looking into issues. If someone is misrepresenting facts, we simply address that."
Mrs. Valiante said she had not read the article and could not refer to it directly. But she said that through her intimate exposure to the Muslim community, she felt confident that many people believe Mr. Fatah is smearing and misrepresenting Islam.
"Tarek Fatah's views are diametrically opposed to most Muslims. There is a tremendous amount of discussion in the community. His point of view contradicts the fundamentals of Islam," she said, refusing to elaborate on what she meant.
"The nature of the work we do implicitly entails that there will be people who don't like what we do," said El-Farouk Khaki, secretary-general of the Muslim Canadian Congress. The articulated hostility is par for the course for those who feel threatened by them, he said.
Mr. Khaki warned that police have to be sensitive to the reality that people who challenge established views so overtly are often in danger of being attacked.
Mr. Fatah has been attacked both physically and verbally, he said -- at an Islamic conference at the former SkyDome in 2003, dozens of young Muslim men mobbed him while a cleric shouted out that he had insulted the Prophet Mohammed's name. In 2006, he said, was accosted on Yonge Street by a man who accused him of being an apostate. His car windows were smashed.
He also wrote a letter to the RCMP about the article sent by e-mail by the Canadian Islamic Congress.
"This is as close as one can gets to issuing a death threat, as it places me as an apostate and blasphemer," he wrote.
Mr. Fatah says it is this concern for his safety that has pushed him to hand in his resignation. He said he is planning to write a book.
Posted by Robert at August 3, 2006 8:17 AM
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Strange how a tiny minority of extremists can cause a true, moderate follower of true and peaceful Islam to resign from his organization, and sever all ties with it... in Canada. What's going on, eh?
Posted by: Jesus Christ Supercop![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 3, 2006 8:39 AM
The structure of the Globe & Mail article is curious. From the headline and the first four paragraphs, you would never know the source of the threat. It sounds as if this fellow is a victim of the contrived offense of "Islamophobia." Only around paragraph 5 does the author finally begin to let you know that the threat is coming from Muslims. Although I suppose it is somewhat gratifying that the Globe & Mail would publish an article on this at all, I never cease to be amazed at the length to which MSM journalists will go to try and soft-peddle the real issues.
Posted by: Howard, Fine & Howard at August 3, 2006 8:43 AM
Although I don't agree with everything Fatah says, there is no question that his stated positions are ones of moderation.
The public should take note: Here is a Muslim living in the west, Tarek Fatah, who spoke out in defence of moderate views. As a direct consequence of having expressed moderate views, he was pressured out by death threats from people claiming, with some backing, to represent the majority of Muslims. Certainly, the very active, well-organized, and aggressive political Islamist groups such as the CIC are hell-bent on introducing Islamic schools and sharia law in Canada. The Islamists are winning.
Clearly, this situation must be addressed in our immigration policy. Moreover, those Muslims who support the harsh penalties (including death) for blasphemy, apostasy, and heresy, must be treated as members of a criminal organization and should be imprisoned or deported.
Posted by: Archimedes at August 3, 2006 8:47 AM
Quite telling that he quit because he was afraid of violence from his fellow muslims and not from Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics or atheists.
Quite telling indeed.
at August 3, 2006 8:48 AM
verbal assaults and property damage are just a prelude to physical assault and ultimately death.This is the way thugs operate.
Posted by: exsgtbrown at August 3, 2006 8:52 AM
Once in a while Bernard Lewis writes things that make sense:
"If the fundamentalists are correct in their calculations and succeed in their war, then a dark future awaits the world, especially the part of it that embraces Islam."
p. 164, The Crisis of Islam, by Bernard Lewis
Posted by: Mentat at August 3, 2006 9:08 AM
Islam is a gang thing........the "moderates' always run when the hard liners threaten them, as they should.
There is no moderate islam.
Posted by: n.a. palm at August 3, 2006 9:19 AM
This is an illustration of Islamic intolerance at its worst, right here in Canada. The thugs are here, and they are starting to show themselves.
Judging by the way we responded to the terror plot in Toronto, the authorities are reluctant to identify them as Muslims out of fear. So what do we do now? It doesn't look like the government is going to do anything.
Posted by: Muzzl'em at August 3, 2006 9:21 AM
Why didn't Tarek Fatah quit Islam all together after all the shit?
Posted by: ssa at August 3, 2006 11:21 AM
Will the Canadian government investigate, at length, the issuing of death-threats or implied death-threats against Tarek Fatah? Will it arrest, for example, Mr. Mohammed Elmasry, adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo, and to arrest, try, and one hopes, convict him, if it discovers that his statements amount to such a threat? Are there, in the laws of Canada, any that punish "statements urging the carrying out of violent acts" against others? If no such laws are on the books, write and pass them. Why should Tarek Fatah be worried, while Mohammed Elmasry continues, unworriedly, and uncharged, to write his veiled or unveiled threats, and to roam free?
Posted by: Hugh at August 3, 2006 11:42 AM
Robert,
You should forward that article to that bubble head woman from the Boston Globe that criticized you and JW. That's what true moderate Muslims get from their fellow Muslims, death threats and accusations of apostasy.
So much for the moderate trend in Islam.
Posted by: Proud Infidel at August 3, 2006 12:40 PM
Why didn't Tarek Fatah quit Islam all together after all the shit?
He would then probably be under even a greater death threat than before... after all apostasy is punishable by death according to Islamic law. Islam is very much like the Eagle's Hotel California where "You can check-in anytime, but you can never leave"!
Posted by: Razdan at August 3, 2006 12:47 PM
Muslims are reaping what they sow , it's hardly a apocalyptic insight that threats come from self-professed "True" muslims and the PC media has been so afraid to be critical of Islam that appeasement and censoring news has created a false sense of security based on not setting-off
one of those closet Jihadists.
Mr.Fatah now sees what we've been trying to tell him for a long time now, Islamophobia
claims by Org.'s like CAIR-Can only insite more violence and backlash to innocent non-Muslims that get grouped in with some actually bigots that hate everyone equally .
Don't gets your hopes up for an arrest Mr.Fatah , Dr.Elmasry and Dr. Shemma Khan ( aka con job Khan) have made a living on jew-bashing and volunteering to be offended or being a career-victim of "Racism" as a Muslims trying to impose Shariah-law on Canada.
Muslims came to the rescue and supported Elmasry when he was caught on a TV debate show ( Michael Coren Live on CTS ) about "Who is a terrorist" and he went 'Mel Gibson' on Michael
and asserted that "All Israelis over 18 are valid targets for murder by suicide bombers".
It's much too late for people like Tarek to now expose the radical islamist , since the recent Poll showed 1% of Canadians support Hezbollah's fight against a UN member , it should become obvious that the 1% of canada that are Muslims
can be linked to the unifying factor for Arabs and Muslims is the hatred for Jews and Israel.
CAIR-Canada still has the posting about how Islam and Muslims now out number the Jewish population , the fact was used just last month to threaten Canada by declaring the 800,000 Arabs and Muslims wont vote for a pro-Democracy foreign policy Government in the next election.
Except , the paradoxical irony here is the Liberal Party now has the leading Leader in the current Party election being a NDP memeber that was Premier on Ontario where the Liberals hold the most seats and the ex-NDPer has a Jewish wife which will irk the anti-Israel voters .
BTW, don't fall for Tarek's disdain for the 17 Jihadists arrested in June 06 , his own MCC website has his condemnation of the RCMP for deporting 19 illegals that just happened to be Pakistani/young/male/Sunni's from a know terrorist region , he cited "Racial-Profiling"
and "Islamophobia" which Dr.Sheema Khan agreed with duriing her reign at CAIR .
Tarek has also attacked Irshad Manji and implied she wasn't practising a true islam , but her Lesbian claim unified many other Muslims that denounced her .
at August 3, 2006 12:52 PM
"Anyone can issue a fatwa," Mr. Fatah said. " And anyone can issue a counter-fatwa. There is no clergy that oversees the process. This is a complete hijacking of the system, and everyone is complicit."Yep, that's the problem - no clergy overseeing this, and the fatwas being hijacked. Solution: genuine fatwas.
Another reason to be wary of 'moderate' Muslims.
Posted by: Infidel Pride at August 3, 2006 1:11 PM
It should be noted that Tarek Fatah would seem to be a deranged conspiracy loon.
Charles Johnson points to an LGF post from a couple of months ago where Fatah reveals that he believes al-Qaida and other terrorist muslim jihadist gangs to be creations of the CIA.
at August 3, 2006 1:13 PM
Yes, but apparently, to judge by the reception he's been getting from other Muslims, he is merely a "moderate" conspiracy-theorist, a "moderate" loon.
Posted by: Hugh at August 3, 2006 1:21 PM
Hugh:
Are there, in the laws of Canada, any that punish "statements urging the carrying out of violent acts" against others? If no such laws are on the books, write and pass them. Why should Tarek Fatah be worried, while Mohammed Elmasry continues, unworriedly, and uncharged, to write his veiled or unveiled threats, and to roam free?
What the Ku Klux Klan was doing in the American South, lynching blacks and murdering liberal and moderate whites, also violated the Bill of Rights. Yet it took the better part of a century to stop the Klan. Because, unfortunately, the general climate of nearly universal white racism among Southern whites, and the KKK's violent intimidation of opponents, made it difficult to find witnesses to testify against them--and virtually impossible to find a jury of 12 to convict them. Sound familiar?
The KKK wasn't really eliminated until they lost their base of support. By the 1960's, the cultural climate had shifted away from bitterness over the Civil War and away from white racism. Then, isolated, the KKK could be arrested and convicted.
So the ultimate answer to protecting Mr. Fatah and those like him isn't going to be siccing the RCMP on those threatening him. Because they enjoy too much support from young Muslims and their Left multiculturalist allies. What's needed in Canada is a change in the political climate, in which radical multiculturalists can't get away, literally, with murder, anymore.
at August 3, 2006 1:25 PM
The telling quote is:
"It's not just for me. It's for my wife and my daughters,"
Real muslim men don't do things for their wives and daughters. He has been "westernized". I say its time for a name change and a different address....also give up Islam. It may be dangerous but it will save his daughters from a life of islamic bondage.
Posted by: greatcometof1577 at August 3, 2006 2:55 PM
Canada's Sikh Community Also Fundamentalist
Canada's Muslim community, particularly Muslims from Pakistan and Bangladesh, is very fundamentalist with very backward views on women and non-Muslims.
However, it is not the only community dominated by the radicals. The Sikh community has long been led by the fundamentalists. The progressive voices disappeared long ago. Radical Sikhs do not support violence against the West per se, but primarily against Hindus and Sikh liberals (who were the primary targets of the Sikh terrorists who bombed the Air India Flight in 1985).
The Canadian security establishment does not appear to take the Sikh terrorist threat seriously enough. I lost two good friends in the Air India bombing. I don't want to lose any more friends in a terrorist attack.
Furthermore, there is likely to be a nexus of Sikh and Islamic fundamentalists as the Sikh bombers in 1985 had made frequent trips to Pakistan prior to the bombing (Pakistan still supports Sikh radicals in India). Disrupting this nexus should be a focus of Canadian law enforcement officials. And liberal Sikhs and Muslims should help Canada in this task.
David
Toronto
at August 3, 2006 3:56 PM
David, I agree that Canada should not view the threat from Sikh extremists lightly and that there is a nexus between the Sikh extremists and the muslim jehadists. I disagree, however, with the heading "Canada's Sikh community also Fundamentalist" which gives the impression that there are parallels between Islam and Sikhism. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing wrong with the fundamentals of Sikhism whereas there is plenty that is wrong with the fundamentals of Islam. The Sikh extremism should not be viewed as a religious movement. It is purely political. Additionally, the mainstream Sikh community does not associate with the ideals of these Sikh extremists.... again, unlike the so-called muslim moderates who continue to support the ideals of dar-ul-Islam that their more militant members profess.
Posted by: Razdan at August 3, 2006 4:38 PM
Razdan
How active are the Sikh extremist movements these days? I thought that the Khalistan issue was settled when their president Jagjit Singh Chauhan accepted Indian citizenship, and gave up his demands. If you go to khalistan.com, it seems to be a site of one person (can't access it at the moment from work, since the site filtering software lists it under 'Violence'.)
Also, I was under the impression that there had been a falling-out between the Khalistani advocates and the Jihadist campaigns, since one of the goals of the former had been convincing Western opinion of its cause - something that would be impossible if they were seen to ally with the Jihadists.
at August 3, 2006 5:15 PM
ala-sux,
Well, I'd give you a little warning about Irshad Manji too. I used to keep tabs on a lot of her articles when she first began writing, and a lot of them were aggressively defending the Muslim community.
Irshad Manji, Haroon Siddiqui and Zuhair Kashmeri even once held a press conference to announce they were forming an organization to defend Islam from what they felt were unfair attacks in the media.
It was only later when Manji came out of the closet to announce that she was a lesbian, that she started taking a huge amount of flak from her fellow Muslims. She then hastily retreated from the Muslim activist scene. It was only after 9/11 that she suddenly re-emerged to announce her newfound calling as a defender of Western values from fundamentalism.
So, I'm sorry to rain on the parade, but even various "moderate Muslims" have a very checkered past -- more checkered than Arafat's bandana.
Notice the same problem with Fareed Zakaria -- he was loudly calling for the invasion of Iraq way back, and now he's loudly questioning whether it was a good idea. Can you say flip-flop?
Posted by: sanman at August 3, 2006 6:09 PM
Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing wrong with the fundamentals of Sikhism whereas there is plenty that is wrong with the fundamentals of Islam. The Sikh extremism should not be viewed as a religious movement. It is purely political. Additionally, the mainstream Sikh community does not associate with the ideals of these Sikh extremists.... again, unlike the so-called muslim moderates who continue to support the ideals of dar-ul-Islam that their more militant members profess.
Posted by: Razdan at August 3, 2006 04:38 PM
I would agree with Razdan's differences between Sikh terror and Islamic terror. Liks Razdan says, Sikh terror was (notice WAS) political and territorial (separate state of Khalistan). It ended when death of Sant Bhinderanwale (the Sikh Bin Laden). Needless to add, Sikh terror was neither ideological nor religious. True, in it's hay days, Sikh terror was equally dangerous (assassination of Indira Gandhi, Gen A S Vaidya) but it ended by crishing thehead, Sant Bhinderanwale.
David, sorry at the loss of your dear friends in Air India flight, but Islamic terror is religions, ideological and international, which Shikh terror could not morph into.
Posted by: Alert at August 3, 2006 6:56 PM
sanman,
I've also kept an eye on recent (past 2-3 years) Manji's statements. The major difficulty with Manji is that she whitewashes and even lies* outright about the problems in the Islamic texts. At a time when the general non-Muslim public needs to see just how bad Islam really is, there she is trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.
The good aspect of Manji is that she takes the general view that Muslims are to blame for the problems in Islam, and that people should be free to criticize Islam.
* e.g., she called the Battle of Badr a "defensive" operation. E.g., she said Christians and Jews are accepted in Islam (problems: that's false, and anyways the statement neglects all the non-Muslims who are not Christian or Jewish).
P.S. I think ultimately the media and the prevailing PC mentality in the society are partly to blame for the problem of Manji, not just Manji herself. Manji can be either in error or deluded, but the media outlets which present her statements are responsible for fact-checking, providing critical/skeptical questions, etc. They are also responsible for presenting well-qualified truly critical views of Islam, to 'balance'** out all of the free advertising they are giving to the promoters of Islam.
** In the popular contemporary media notion of balance, which departs from objectivity.
at August 4, 2006 8:00 AM
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