“No to war in Syria and Iraq” means no war to dislodge the Islamic State. It means allowing the Islamic State to continue to brutalize and oppress women, non-Muslims, and gays, and to incite jihad massacres in Europe and North America. Now we see that opposing even the bloodlust and aggression of the Islamic State is “Islamophobia.”
“Toronto pro Islam protest opposes the war on the Islamic State (ISIS),” by Jonathan D. Halevi, CIJ News, March 5, 2017:
The anti-Islamophobia, anti “white”-supremacy and anti Justin Trudeau protest at Toronto’s Nathan Philips Square on Saturday, March 4, 2017 highlighted also a message of opposition to the wars against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (aka ISIS, Daesh, Caliphate) and Yemen’s pro-Iranian militias.
A sign on the central stage read the following:
- Refugees welcome
- (Fascists not)
- Yes to refugees
- No to Islamophobia
- No to war in Syria and Iraq
The first speaker on behalf the Organizing Committee Against Islamophobia (OCAI) accused Justin Trudeau Liberal government among other things of espousing white supremacist policy, committing ongoing “genocide” against the Indigenous people, arming the Islamic regime of Saudi Arabia that bombed Yemeni children and exploiting refugees and immigrants. She called the federal government to repeal the Barbaric Cultural Practices Act that criminalizes forced marriage and tackles ‘honour killings’. To read the transcript of her speech and watch the video click HERE.
The Canadian flag was not displayed and the National Anthem was not played at the protest. For a photo gallery from the event click HERE.
One of the speakers at the rally was Syed Hussan, who is affiliated with the organizations No One Is Illegal-Toronto, Toronto Community Mobilization Network and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
In his speech, Syed Hussan portrayed Canada as a rogue state accusing Justin Trudeau Liberal government of implementing a colonial policy, taking part in wars and criminally neglecting indigenous people. Hussan said that anti-islamophobia motion is not enough calling for an orchestrated popular struggle to make sure that “racists” cannot gather and to “cut off the head of racism.”
The following are excerpts from Syed Hussan’s speech:
Colonialism… continues on these lands…
We need to come to terms with the fact that we live in a country, we live in a society, we live in a community, that is racist (crowd: shame).
We live in a country, in a community in a society that goes to war (crowd: shame)…
We are not going to simply be ok with this motion to study the possible effects of Islamophobia and racism in this country. Are we? (crowd: no). We are not here to just defend a motion in Parliament by the same government that is breaking, that is breaking its promise to indigenous people, that sends more weapons to Yemen (sic. meant to Saudi Arabia)… that is not the government that we are supporting. This is not the policy that we can support…
[We gathered in a] symbolic protest to show that these racists cannot gather, will not gather. We need to commit to something more important, something more critical… if there is any work that you do, in your neighbourhood, in your community racism raises its ugly head and your job, our job is to find it and cut its head off….