Attacking the messenger

Via a reader - British police support worker Philip Balmforth has been removed from his duties, and faces a disciplinary meeting for talking to the press about Asian girls in the school system who go missing and often end up in forced marriages - Policeman who exposed forced marriages faces sack for 'shaming' his city.

So the 'honour' and image of the city is more important than trying to lessen the incidence of abduction and rape? And if we don't hear about it, then it doesn't happen?

Meanwhile we get a lesson here in how our poor Western morals make us 'hypocrites' for suggesting that forced marriages with children are anything but noble.

Canada should take note.

Gutsy Post

Today's letters to the Editor alerted me to an item I had completely overlooked in yesterday's National Post - They had reprinted one of the infamous Danish cartoons.

I had read both articles on the page regarding the arrest of three men who had plotted to murder the Danish cartoonist, as well as the one about Soharwardy dropping his HRC complaint against Levant, and not even noticed the accompanying graphic of Mohammed with the bomb in his turban.

Which all goes to show that either I am a very unperceptive reader, or else this whole issue has been blown out of proportion to a ridiculous degree.

By way of contrast to the moxy of the Post, consider Ezra's observation of how the Mothercorps handled the cartoon - pixellated! Yet no holds barred when it comes to depicting anything that might offend Christians.

Normally I would say to purchase your media carefully, and yet when it comes to the CBC we have no choice. Our taxes fund it whether we agree with their editorial viewpoint or not.

Something has to change.

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Islam and the war against freedom of expression - Spero news.

Saturday Update - Our cherished right to blaspheme: Post.

Towards a 'more inclusive' Ontario

McGuinty wants to drop the Lord's Prayer at Queen's Park, or else have rotating prayers from different faiths.

Do atheists have their own prayer? And what about the environmentalists?

Do you know where YOUR tax dollars are going?

This is actually not news, but Ontario (and especially Toronto) tax payers should be aware that "hundreds of GTA Muslim men in polygamous marriages -- some with a harem of wives -- are receiving welfare and social benefits for each of their spouses, thanks to the city and province..."

Today's Sun features a report (Harems pay off for Muslims) that explains how Canada is "way ahead of Britain in this respect."

I'm just so proud.

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Related: Obviously Raphael is one of the many Canadians not aware of our generous policy.

Well, how else are we going to deal with our low birth rate here in Canada? Restrict abortions?

Update: SDA has another link - via If you build it they will come.

Mark Peters - Polygamy is lucrative in Ontario.

Neo - Apparently nobody was watching...

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Saturday Update: Only one wife gets benefits: Province - Post.

"Nothing is stopping the other people who live in the same dwelling from applying as individuals, and if they meet the requirements they may be eligible for social assistance, but you definitely cannot tick off that you have more than one spouse because it's not recognized, it's not legal in Ontario," said Julia Sakas, communications assistant to Ms. Meilleur.

Honour Killings in Canada?

Darcey has a fascinating discussion going on at DMB about so-called 'Honour Killings'.

Author Ellen R. Sheeley has left a comment that is well worth the read:

Imam Shakir is being disingenuous and playing to the cultural/moral relativists, of which there seem to be plenty.

Aqsa Parvez's death was an "honor" killing, and "honor" killings will never be properly addressed if people aren't even willing to admit to what they are. They are a form of domestic violence, but a very specific form, with different roots, different triggers, different modus operandi, and different ways of preventing them...

I am planning to pick up this thread sometime in the near future, since these issues now appear to be affecting Canada.

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Previous related articles:
-The deadly face of Muslim Extremism by Tarek Fatah and Farzana Hassan - Post
-Denial is sickening by Michael Coren- Sun.
-Islamic like me: Why the veil is a threat - Danielle Crittenden (Huffington Post)
-Horror under the hijab - Stephen Brown (Front Page Magazine)
-The failure of Western feminists to address Islamist Abuse - Adrian Morgan.
-The enemy isn't Islam. It's tribalism - Jonathan Kay.
-Whitewashing the murder of Aqsa Parvez . . . and remembering the murder of Tina Isa - Michelle Malkin.

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Sunday Update: Choosing hijab doesn't make me more pious - Star.

Star - Imams deliver few words on Bhutto. (This report references the killing of Aqsa Parvez).

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Monday Update: Dr. Roy - Tarek Fatah on the response to the Bhutto assassination.


Tuesday Update - I think the only thing I want to add to this post is a short excerpt from 'Infidel' by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (where she references the political situation in Holland at the time):

"... I felt disappointed by the Labour Party. I had joined them originally because, in my mind, social democrats stood for reform. They sought to improve people's lives; they cared about suffering, which I thought should have meant they would care about the suffering of Muslim women. But in reality, the Labour Party in Holland appeared blinded by multiculturalism, overwhelmed by the imperative to be sensitive and respectful of immigrant culture, defending the moral relativists..."

Sound familiar?

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Jan. 4/08 Update - Dr. Roy: More honour killings?

When multiculturalism collides with Canadian Rights - Update: Teen is dead

"She just wanted to dress like we do"

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Very sad update: Aqsa Parvez has died of the injuries inflicted on her by her own father.

Aqsa's father, Muhammad Parvez, 57, has been charged with murder. He made a brief court appearance this morning and was remanded in custody pending another court appearance Wednesday.

The teen's brother - Waqas Parvez, 26 - has been charged with obstructing justice.

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To some people, the hijab is a symbol of faith, culture and a means of modesty in an increasingly secular, anything-goes Canada.

To others it is a symbol of oppression; even though some hijab-wearers insist it is more liberating because women are judged for themselves rather than their looks.

But all this hinges on the assumption of choice.

Such does not appear to be the case with a 16-year old girl who is now in critical condition after being choked by her father; who apparently was enraged by his daughter's desire to wear Western clothing - Were clothes behind the attack on teenager? (Post)

Her condition is so grave that police have not yet charged the man arrested at the scene until they know whether it will be a charge of murder or attempted murder. He was scheduled to appear in Brampton court today.

"He said that if she leaves, he would kill her."

This article is a real eye-opener. I wonder how many other Canadian girls are out there in similar circumstances. They must eventually either give in to the intimidation or face abuse of some kind.


A frightening situation for a country that considers itself so advanced in the area of Human Rights.

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More from the Toronto Sun - Friends feared worst.
Star - Teen clings to life, dad in custody.
P.C. - The Star on Hijab Murder - It 'can divide families'.

Montreal Muslim News - The Voice of Aqsa's blood cries from the ground:

...Now, every time people see a hijab-wearing woman walking down the street they will wonder if these women are forced to wear it for fear of the dangerous consequences if they refuse...

Above link from Dust my Broom - Aqsa Parvez has reportedly died.
Jonathan Kay - On the death of Aqsa Parvez.
Little Green Footballs - Strangled to death for not wearing a Hijab (with a dig at the Star).



Related: Quebec union wants a charter to ban religious garb -Post.
The Abaya Monologues - Post.
Globe - When multi morphs into plural.

On Multiculturalism, Solitudes, and 'Canadian Culture'

Interesting juxtaposition of viewpoints here between the Post's George Jonas and the Star's Haroon Siddiqui, who attended the same conference, but the impressions they take away with them couldn't be further apart.

This reminds me of what Penny said at Red Tory's:

We are once again developing Two Solitudes in this country, both of whom rattle on about freedom and democracy, but which are terms that have totally different meanings, depending on which pole one is sitting on.

(11:58 P.M.)

Very profound, isn't it?


Anyway, Jonas sees multiculturalism as a negative; keeping us apart and muddying whatever is left of our 'Canadian culture'.

Instead of a unique and unified Canada, multiculturalism has ended up promoting a xenolith: a fragmented patchwork of separate communities, each upset about the supposed privileges of the other segments, while viewing its own privileges as entitlements. Multiculturalism has perpetuated old solitudes within Canada, and created new ones. This may not have been anyone's intention; but it is the result.

Siddiqui, on the other hand, sees multiculturalism as a 'great success' and quotes quotes pollster Michael Adams who assures us that:

"Groups that live in ethnic enclaves are more economically successful than groups who do not live in ethnic enclaves. This was true for the Jews and the Italians and it is true for the Chinese and the South Asians today. This is a good sign, not a sign of disastrous balkanization."

I have a few thoughts on this, but am pressed for time at the moment. If anyone would care to start the debate, please feel free. Thanks.

The Logical Progression of Political Correctness and Multiculturalism

Continuing with the theme of religion on this Easter weekend, George Jonas has a very thought-provoking column in today's Post (Throwing the Holocaust down a memory hole).

It actually ties in very nicely with yesterday's discussion about Michael Smith's essay, Religion in a Secular Society. If I can simply Smith's argument, it is that a true secular society allows the free discussion of all viewpoints; not the exclusion of faith itself.

This is all related to political-correctness and multiculturalism, which George Jonas seems to feel has gone way over board trying to appease the ever-increasing influence of Muslim immigration and population growth. And if we look to Britain, we can see the writing on the wall for Canada.

Jonas points to a recent Daily Mail article citing a study that shows that British schools are "dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils".

It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.

There is also resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades - where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem - because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques.

Jonas likens this situation to Orwell's famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where "past events that didn't sit well with Big Brother went into a memory hole".


Michael Smith notes:

The trend in our country and elsewhere to consign religious communities to the private realm is, in fact, a drift toward intolerance, despite claims to the contrary.

Religious communities must continue to speak and act in the public realm and to propose policies for the common good.

Will Britain's problems become ours someday?

If we allow ourselves to be goaded into silence, I fear that may well be the case.

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Related: Dr. Roy - CBC mocks Christians on Good Friday.

Update: More at Fox News.

-Just picked up a copy of George Jonas' "Reflections on Islam", which was highly recommended by Lorrie Goldstein. Looking forward to catching up on my reading.

Have a great weekend, whatever you are celebrating.