By Diane Bujold
It truly insults my intelligence when I hear the word "racist" attributed to a person who questions our government's open-door policy on people from Islamic backgrounds. Immigration as such is not the issue. Islam is not a "race". If you're going to result to insults, at least find a new terminology. The term "racist" should only be attributed to those who are prejudiced against a "race" i.e. a person's skin color. And from what I've experienced anywhere in Canada, there are very few racists.
I also resent the word "Islamaphobia". Being afraid of, or very concerned about, the large influx of immigrants from the Islamic world does not make a person "Islamaphobe". A phobia is an irrational fear of something. Being well aware of what is happening around the world and being concerned that the same will reach our shores in a short time is not "irrational". It is a legitimate concern.
There is such a thing as the Islamization of the Western world. Anyone with half a brain and the inclination to honestly do a little research will soon become aware of what is happening around the world through large influx of Islamic migrants. Germany, Switzerland, England and France in particular have suffered enormous casualties through Islamic terror. Being concerned that what has been - and continues to happen - all over Europe may happen in Canada does not make me "phobic". Rather it is based in a sad reality.
Canada needs immigrants. But inviting everybody and anybody without concern for the open statements of world domination that many in the Islamic world themselves proudly profess as their intent, to me, is a recipe for disaster.
Being concerned about our changing demographics in favor of people who want to destroy our democratic rights & freedoms and at its core, want to want to establish a Caliphate governed by Sharia law, is not a "phobia". It is a realistic concern given a social system attached to the practice of a Political, Judicial, Educational and Religious Ideology that has not changed in 1400 years, and a culture that does not want to integrate but rather to 'dominate'.
This said, I know very well that many Muslims come here to escape the tyranny of an oppressive regime and only want to live in peace and raise their families. I've met several of those people and I can tell you that they have no desire to return to an existence of tyranny such as the one they left behind. We hear from them from time to time in social media, but not nearly as often as we'd like. Those are the legitimately peace-loving immigrants I want to see establish themselves and prosper in our democratic multicultural system.
But let's not stupidly keep our heads in the sand. There are those too who adhere to the principal of world domination as dictated by their understanding of their holy book and the teachings of their radical Imams. They are not hard to find as they openly profess their beliefs. Why, just recently in Montreal, didn't an Imam insist on the construction company next door to their mosque remove the two female workers from the site as it offended the Muslims inside? As our demographic changes to include more and more people of the Islamic faith, I think it would be more prudent for our government to ensure that new immigrants share our values rather than want to practice such things repressiveness as the suppression of women. Haven't we come too far to backtrack into the dark ages? By the way, the construction company apparently complied with the Imam's demands as they relocated the two female workers to another site. I say shame on them for complying.
There are many examples of how this ideology is taking root in our country and many Canadians are bending over backward to shamefully accommodate it. Much of what extremists say though, is often not published in mainstream media because for some reason that escapes me, the powers that be do not want the rest of us to know what how prevalent it is. That kind of convoluted logic doesn't serve any good purpose that I can think of. In a society that prides itself on multiculturalism, everybody should have a voice and those who seek to destroy our freedoms and way of life should be heard loudly and clearly so that we (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) can all make informed decisions as to who we will vote for; the leader who supports such things as Sharia Law or the one who supports Canadian rights and freedom of speech. We are not babies. We should have the right to choose.
I once dated a Muslim man whose country of origin is Iran. I asked him what made him decide to come to Canada. He told me that in the 70s, it was great living in Iran. People had freedom and dressed in Western clothes and listened to Western music. He said that women wore bikinis on the beach and the young people wore tie died t-shirts (even showed me a picture of himself in tight jeans and a colorful hippy type shirt,… very cute). He said that he decided to leave after things had "changed" and people "lost many freedoms" at the end of that era. Today, I understand it to mean the establishment of Sharia Law where severe punishment - even death - follows any criticism of the regime. Now if a man like that made the decision to immigrate to Canada because of lost freedoms in his homeland, what makes anyone think that he would welcome the establishment of Sharia Law in his adopted country? I'm quite sure many Muslims would feel the same way.
Our Prime Minister seems to have taken a shine to anything and everything Islamic. But is he being a bit too biased in favor of Islam and forgoing any sound measure of critical thinking while at the same time completely disapproving of others? M103 would suggest so. After all, why are some people allowed to criticize while others are being shamed into silence with such labeling as "Islamaphobes" and "racists"? It makes no sense.
In a society where freedom of speech still exists, the questioning of the decisions on the part of our law makers should be welcomed by everyone regardless of whether we agree or not with the question posed.
In other words, I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it. And in a democracy, that freedom should never be squashed by the likes of M103 and those who seek to destroy freedom of speech.
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