OUTSIDE THE BOX

Volume 5 - Issue No. 50 - February 2006

ISLAMIC CONGRESS: The Harvest THANKS CANADIANS Prof. A. K. Dewdney Corner The Canadian Islamic Congress issued a terrible damage -- including statement today thanking losses of life, property and livelihood -- Eaten up by Canadian media for their collective re- can happen when so-called straint in not re-publishing cartoons 'freedom of the press' is exercised without the child within mocking the Prophet that regard to cultural first appeared last year in a major Danish sensitivities or social consequences," the Biologists call it “neoteny”: a newspaper. statement said. tendency in some animals (not many) CIC also praised the Canadian "Through the restraint and ethics shown government for supporting its ongoing by this country's most influential and for the adult to take on the stand against the dissemination of hate respected professional journalists, Canada characteristics of a juvenile. The literature, whether in picture or print. The has shown the world that true freedom is term comes in handy when I think supportive work of also about taking responsibility and exer- about some of the changes that have Canadian public, academics, faith groups cising taken place over the last three and other social justice understanding. Let us hope that decades. We have become neotenic, organizations was also others will follow Canada's example, adults increasingly arrested in their acknowledged. should such a disgraceful incident ever Mohamed Amery development. I don’t mean physical "We have seen through this incident what happen again." development. Humans still mature physically. I mean mental and The Question of Cartoons WILL THE GOP emotional development. For exam- ple, do you, or does anyone you It has been impossible they try to understand know display one or more of the these last few weeks to why a cartoonist in Den- BE GOVERNING following symptoms: avoid seeing very painful mark would ridicule The CANADA NOW? images in the media, Prophet. At the same 1. running around in short pants whether on the television time the non-Muslim It could have been much worse. and a tee-shirt or in the news paper. community is trying to could have won Images of The Prophet, understand how a cartoon 2. frequently suffering from tan- a parliamentary majority! The images of people in great could cause people to riot, outcome was the culmination of trums (e.g., road rage) anguish, destruction of destroy property and 3. obsessing on food, especially fast property and, even death. even, cause death. These a political campaign that saw food (which brings us to) Harper’s Reform party Everywhere people of By Father Mark Sargent are difficult times and in 4. feeling impatient and angry many faiths have been the midst of all the emo- -- misnamed Conservative -- when made to wait for anything left asking the question, “Why do those tion and suffering I believe people of play the tune of political 5. being frightened of exertion (but people do such things?” faith are being called to search for the corruption to its fullest effect for see 1.) I have listened to the pained discussions truth. a rudely manipulated and en- 6. being unable to see situations taking place in the Muslem community as Continued on page 6 raged Canadian electorate. The from others’ points of view. corruption charge was the only 7. watching over three hours of TV weapon Mr. Harper had, and a day Canada Can Be an Honest Broker should he carry out his threats The list goes on. (I forgot to add 8: and promises this would indeed unwilling to accept responsibility.) In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict change the normally gentle-faced Of course, these are all symptoms of Canada. But before going any The recent Palestinian legis- real dilemma. Canada wants further let me state for the record similar disease called childhood. We lature elections have stimu- to promote democracy, but all catch it shortly after birth and lated much hand-wringing does that mean we have to that the Conservatives did not remain in that state until cured by the and worry among interna- accept the democratic out- win the January 23 election. The evidence of maturity around us, not tional donors. This is not come? Liberals lost it! It was the worst to mention frequent warnings about because the elections were a In a region already fraught election campaign waged by the our behaviour. Having become failure -- in fact, they are with religious tension, the Liberals in more than fifty years. mature, at least the way we used to, seen as a great success as victory of the religious-based Nevertheless, we can all be we wore “adult” clothing, held our they were free and fair -- slate running under the banner happy that, since Mr. Harper can temper when annoyed, ate sensibly, but rather because the out- of "Change and Reform" was form only a minority govern- come of these democratic a shock for the Fatah hierar- ment, his penchant for cut and and so on. Not all of us all the time, elections has resulted in chy which has guided the to be sure, but most of us most of the (the Islamic Resis- Palestinian liberation move- slash will be curtailed by his time. Well, many of us much of the tance Movement) securing a By Hussein Amery ment since its inception. They dependence on opposition parties time. majority of the seats. This had been expecting a slim to pass legislation. Signs of neoteny were on the horizon has left countries like Canada, having victory, but instead have been moved to Consider if you will that Harper back in the sixties and seventies. contributed financially to the election and the opposition. plans to scrap the National Day Various movements swept across the having deployed election monitors, in a Continued on page 6 Care program, an action which country in waves, accompanied by falls just a little short of being frightening changes in the calamitous for hundreds of thou- educational system, The Inner Child, FEDERAL ELECTIONS 2006 sands of Canadian households. the ME Generation, Primal Scream Consider the great disparity Therapy, Feeling Good About As the smoke cleared from the Stephen Harper’s victorious between an unavoidably shrink- Yourself, and so on, may well have election held on January 23, Conservatives elected 124 ing federal revenue forecast (due influenced sweeping changes in the 2006 ’s Liberal MPs., enough to form a Minor- to Harper’s generous largesse had been ity government up from 98. curriculum: the New (non-) Math, with taxpayers’ money) and what defeated by Stephen Harper’s The Bloc Québécois elected 51 he promises to spend and dish Child-centred Learning, Independent Conservatives. Martin an- MPs down from 54 in the 2004 Exploration, Computer Games nounced his resignation as election. The New Democratic out. Imagine the tarnish our (excuse me: Computer Literacy), Prime Minister and as leader Party led by Jack Layton in- reputation will suffer, and the Group Learning, and, of course, of the Liberal Party. There will creased their number to 29 betrayal of trust, if Harper Learning How to Learn. My theory be a race to choose a new MPs from 19 including a cancels our support for the Kyoto is that teachers, themselves leader for the Liberal Party. breakthrough victory in Lon- global treaty. Read between the increasingly afflicted by the disease, The Liberals hammered by the don-Fanshawe for Irene Ma- lines and you will undoubtedly By Ed Corrigan saw less and less point in actually Sponsorship Scandal, the thyssen. One independent, decipher Harper’s hidden agenda Gomery Inquiry and a series of campaign Andre Arthur, a popular shock radio teaching anything. (See symptom 5.) of planning to use the gaffs and blunders still managed to elect show host in City was elected in “notwithstanding” clause in the How much easier it would be to let 103 Members of Parliament (MPs) down Portneuf-Jacques-Cartier riding. Continued on page 3 30 seats from the 2004 federal election. Continued on page 5 Continued on page 3 36 اﻟﻌﺪد Issue 50 اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﺨﺎﻣﺴﺔ ﺷﺒﺎط Albilad February 2006

FEDERAL ELECTIONS 2006 Continued from page 1 rael’s right wing, was made Parliamen- As the Liberal Party candidate Alghabra feated in his bid to return to the House of In terms of popular vote the Conserva- tary Secretary to the Prime Minister for was the target of a vicious anti-Muslim Commons losing to Liberal Hedy Fry in tives won 36.3%, the Liberals 30.2%, the Multiculturalism. Deepak Obhrai is a smear campaign. However, he was also Vancouver Centre. NDP candidate Ian NDP 17.5%, and the Bloc 10.5%. In total Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of attacked by left-wing Muslims and also Waddell also lost to who 14,815,680 voted in the election out of a Foreign Affairs as is Peter Van Loan by right-wing Muslims for his moderate was elected as a Liberal but defected to total eligible electors of 22,812,683 for a M.P. for York-Simcoe. Ed Kormarnicki is views on Islam. Alghabra, however, pre- the Conservatives to take a position in turnout of 64.9%. the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minis- vailed and was elected with a 3,400 vote Harper’s Cabinet. The Conservatives The Green Party won 4.5% up 0.2% from ter of Citizenship and Immigration. Ox- margin over his Conservative challenger. placed a poor third in Vancouver their showing in 2004. The number of ford MP Dave McKenzie is the Parlia- However, Alghabra is the lone Arab born Kingsway in the January 23, 2006 elec- votes the Greens received was 665,940. mentary Secretary to the Minister of Pub- Canadian voice in the House of Com- tion and there has been a major uproar in They ran candidates in all 308 ridings but lic Safety. mons and one of only four Muslims. the riding over Emerson’s defection to the did not elect an MP. The first past the There are no Muslims or Arabs holding Other Liberal ridings of interest to the Conservatives. post system does not favour smaller par- positions in Cabinet or as Parliamentary Canadian Arab Community and the Cana- In the 2004 Federal election the Canadian ties unless the vote is concentrated like Secretaries. However, Japanese Canadian dian Muslim Community include the re- Islamic Congress (CIC) strongly urged the Bloc’s vote in Quebec. The Green Bev Oda is Minister of Canadian Heritage election of Colleen Beaumier in Bramp- Muslims to ‘hold their noses’ and vote Party easily passed the 2-per-cent thresh- and Status of Women and Michael ton-West. She serves as head of the Can- Liberal to stop the Conservatives. This old to be eligible for federal election fi- Chong, of Chinese descent, is President ada Arab World Parliamentary Associa- call certainly helped the Liberals win a nancing of $1.79 per vote. This voter of the Queens Privy Council, Minister of tion. Joe Fontana, a strong supporter of few seats and to form a Minority govern- indicates that environmental issues are Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Palestinians and Arab community was ment. In the 2006 election the CIC told important to many Canadians. Sport providing representation from Can- re-elected in London-North-Centre. An- Muslims that ‘vote you must’ but for the While Harper’s Conservatives only won ada’s visible minorities in Harper’s Cabi- drew Telegdi was re-elected in Kitchener- best local candidate on the Muslim com- the support of 36.3% of Canadian voters net. Bill Casey Conservative MP for Waterloo. He has worked closely with the munity issues. Disenchanted with the the election result ordains that a new Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) and has Liberals they did not endorse a political government is formed. Expect a strong Valley was re-elected in Nova Scotia. spoken out against the Security Certifi- party. shift to the right and policies more in line Casey has been active on the Palestinian cates. Former Foreign Affairs Minister The CIC Political Action Committee with George W. Bush’s policies in Wash- issue in . and Defense Minister Bill Graham was claimed that their ‘Election Report Card’ ington. The Conservatives in the election Only two Arab Canadian Members of re-elected in -Centre. He is a was a success and that they had an impact were shut out of Canada’s major urban Parliament were elected; Paul Zed, Cana- former professor of International Rela- on the election outcome. The CICPAC centres, Toronto, Montreal and Vancou- dian born but of Lebanese Arab descent, tions. campaign to “vote candidates not parties" ver. However, they managed to make a was re-elected in Saint John New Bruns- The defeat of Liberal Foreign Affairs reportedly helped MPs from all parties surprising breakthrough in Quebec win- wick and Omar Alghabra was elected in Minister in Papineau get elected in 2006. According to the ning 10 seats at the expense of the Bloc. the Mississauga-Erindale. Both were riding in Montreal may have been due to CICs, their election exit polls show that The Bloc picked up seats from the dis- elected as Liberals. To this writer’s the displeasure of Montreal Arabs and more than 70% of eligible Canadian Mus- credited Liberals in Quebec. knowledge only four Muslims were Muslims over changes in Canada’s policy lims cast ballots. Among candidates who Harper’s Cabinet was announced on Feb- elected in the 2006 Canadian election. on the Palestinian issue. In Pettigrew’s received a positive "A" or "B" grading by ruary 6, 2006 and includes three Minis- Omar Alghabra in Mississauga-Erindale, riding there were 3,464 Arabs and 9,635 CICPAC, 73% were elected. Candidates ters who served in Mike Harris’s Conser- Wajid Khan in Mississauga-Streetsville, Muslim voters. He won the 2004 election who received an unsatisfactory "F" grade, vative government. Former Progressive Yasmin Ratansi in Don Valley East, all by only 468 votes. He was targeted by a 33% were defeated. CICPAC's report Conservative Leader Peter MacKay re- elected as Liberals. Rahim Jaffer in Ed- group of Montreal Arab activists who card is posted at: http:// ceived the post of Foreign Affairs. Monte monton-Strathcona was elected as a Con- opposed the Martin government’s recent www.canadianislamiccongress.com/ Solberg is Minister of Citizenship and servative. tilt in policy towards Israel. Pettigrew election2006/election_results.php. Mem- Immigration, and Stockwell Day received Omar Alghabra, a past-president of the lost by 1,153 votes to the Bloc. In bers of Parliament who received a grade the post of Public Safety. David Emerson , overcame -La Prairie Jacques Saada, who of F on the CIC Report Card and were who was elected as a Liberal in Vancou- many obstacles to become one of the few also earned the ire of pro-Palestinian defeated included Liberals , ver, in a very controversial move, crossed Canadians born in the Arab World to be activists for his pro-Israeli views had Jacques Saada and Sarmite Bulte in Park- the floor to become Minister of Interna- elected to Canada’s Parliament. He is 1,860 Arabs in his riding and 3,830 Mus- dale-High Park. Bulte lost to the NDP’s tional Trade in Harper’s new cabinet. Syrian and was born in Saudi Arabia. lims. Saada lost by 2,077 votes to the Peggy Nash who was endorsed by the As the Jerusalem Post article on January Senator Pierre Debane who as a Quebec Bloc. Liz Frulla, a member of Liberal CIC. 25, 2006 declared A Jews look for pro- MP served as a Minister in Pierre Tru- Parliamentarians for Israel lost in the It is clear that the Canadian Arab commu- Israel turn as Conservatives win Canadian deau’s government was born in Haifa Quebec Jeanne Le Ber riding by 3,188 nity and the Canadian Muslim commu- vote.@ Foreign Affairs Minister Mac- Palestine in 1938. Mac Harb born in votes to the Bloc. She had 2,000 Arabs nity are getting more involved in the po- Kay’s views on the Middle East are Lebanon was elected as a Liberal MP in and 4,020 Muslims in her riding. Liberal litical process and becoming more effec- largely unknown. However, Stockwell Ottawa and was appointed to the Senate Eleni Bakopanas also lost her seat in tive but most would agree that much Day who will be in charge of the Cana- of Canada in 2004. Ahuntsic riding by 662 votes. She had a work needs to be done to get the concerns dian border and public safety is a strong Alghabra won the seat formerly held by large Arab population of 6,550 and a of the Arab and Muslim community in supporter of Israel. Carolyn Parrish, the outspoken MP, who Muslim population of 5,725. Canada addressed by Canada’s political Calgary Conservative MP Diane was kicked out of the Liberal Caucus for In the NDP Alexa McDonough was re- institutions. Ablonczy who has shown some under- her attacks on Paul Martin, her strong elected in Halifax, Joe Comartin was re- Ed Corrigan is an Immigration lawyer standing of the Arab viewpoint was sur- opposition to George Bush’s war on Iraq elected in Windsor-Tecumseh and Libby with offices located in London at prisingly shut out of Cabinet. She was, and for her support for the Palestinians. Davies was re-elected in Vancouver East. 171 Queens Ave Suite 420, tel 519-439- however, made the Parliamentary Secre- Alghabra won a hotly contested nomina- Svend Robinson, a strong supporter of the 4015 and at 3195 Erindale Station, Rd in tary to Jim Flaherty Minister of Finance. tion over Charles Sousa, a prominent Palestinians but who had resigned in dis- Mississagua, tel: 905-290-9018. He can Jason Kenny, a strong supporter of Is- banker and close friend of Paul Martin. grace after a shoplifting scandal was de- be reached at [email protected]

CAF condemns hateful CANADIAN ISLAMIC CONGRESS depiction of Islam URGES NEW PM TO RESPECT DEMOCRATIC Toronto - The Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) condemned the hateful depiction of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. A RESULTS IN PALESTINIAN ELECTIONS caricature published by the Danish news- paper Jyllands-Posten and reprinted by HAMAS VICTORY A NEW PHASE IN MIDDLE EAST HISTORY other European newspapers promotes disturbing hateful anti-Muslim images. "Palestinians are to be congratulated for "Canada should serious setback to the peace movement “We respect freedom of expression; holding their recent elections in a free, adopt a balanced and serve only to escalate the violence. however, these caricatures constitute hate fair, and democratic manner," the Cana- policy in the The Irish Republican Army's political mongering and can only perpetuate hate dian Islamic Congress said in a short region in order to wing proved itself competent to govern and violence against Muslims. We con- statement issued today. work towards, without continuing armed violence; demn as much as we and CIC noted that more than 77 % percent and ultimately likewise, several former Israeli prime the world condemn antisemitism. This of eligible Palestinian voters cast ballots achieve, peace ministers were once labelled terrorists. kind of hateful propaganda does nothing in this week's elections, which saw a with justice," the Hamas should be given the same chance to bridge the widening gap between Mus- surprise upset in favour of Hamas party. CIC statement to establish itself in this new phase of lims and Western Nations.” Said Faraj CIC is urging the new government of continued. Middle East history. We believe that Nakhleh, acting president of CAF. Canadian PM-elect Stephen Harper to "Not to deal with bringing Hamas into the legitimate Newspapers and magazines need to play respect the results of a vote that could the new Palestin- political process and opening a more productive role to promote inte- soon see Hamas in political control of ian govern- constructive dialogue will help to gration and harmony among all people Gaza and the West Bank. Dr. Mohamed Elmasry ment will be a moderate its policies." and religions, They need to stop vilify- ing the religion of 1.4 billion people around the world. As always, CAF opposes violence and The ad serves your business calls on all parties to establish an open dialogue and address these issues. Tel: (519) 777-1391 [email protected]