O Canada! We stand on guard for thee

By Shujaat Wasty - Montreal June 9, 2006

As a born & raised Canadian Muslim, I take the greatest pride in my country; I proudly wear the maple leaf whenever I travel abroad, I am fluently bilingual in both of our national languages and can sing the anthem in both as well (albeit not as well as Lyndon Slewidge of Ottawa, but few can claim that) and I am as avid of a hockey fan as can be. In short, I am both a patriotic Canadian and a practicing Muslim; the identities are not different or incongruent, rather both are complementary to one another.

Yet some questions plague my mind: why is it that when a Canadian Christian or Canadian Jew or Canadian Hindu or Canadian Sikh commits a crime, their fellow members in faith are not asked to apologize for him or her, but when a Canadian Muslim commits a crime, all Muslims are expected to do so?

Why is the faith of a criminal associated with him or her only when it is a Muslim?

Why is it that when Muslim community leaders and members speak out against terrorism tirelessly and unequivocally condemn it, it often goes unreported?

In light of the recent Ontario arrests, it is rather unfortunate that much of the mainstream media is carelessly whipping up anti-Muslim hysteria and neglecting the fact that the suspects are presently accused of a crime and as per our democratic principles, they are innocent until proven guilty by a fair trial. The accused are yet to be brought to court, but the media circus has already pronounced specific places of being targets of terrorist strikes, based on sensationalized concoction and nothing substantial from the accused or the authorities.

Similarly, it is utterly irresponsible for government officials, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper (who could hardly mask his glee when pronouncing his statement following the arrests), to make misleading statements and insinuations of "us" versus "them". Such fear-mongering will only serve to negatively reinforce sentiments and stereotypes in society and lead to more isolation and polarization of communities. Prime Minister Harper could do well by learning how to be a responsible public figure, as exemplified by Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois, many NDP MP's and others. This same advice can be given to Liberal MP Wajid Khan, whose remarks on TV and on radio have borne frantic overcompensation.

On the other hand, it is a relief to see that statements by CSIS, RCMP and the Mayor of Toronto put the arrests into proper context as criminal activities by suspects and explicitly declared that in no way do they implicate the Canadian Muslim population. If the accused are proven to be guilty by a court of law, then I am extremely grateful to our security forces and applaud them for their vigilance.

At the same time, Canadians need to ignore the baseless rhetoric perpetuated by certain elements in society who are echoing the same detrimental and dangerous line of thinking as the one currently employed in Washington DC. We need to scrutinize the genuine causes of terrorism and the legitimate reasons and issues people may have against Canada. The fact remains that our shift from the traditional role of international peacekeepers to that of combat missions in Afghanistan, allied with the United States, has - and will continue to - cause feelings of resentment towards us in many parts of the world.

As well, our reputation as a neutral nation intent on helping bring peace through justice in conflict-ridden localities has been affected by our government's one-sided policies against oppressed groups. This will undoubtedly cause more antipathy against Canada throughout the world.

Canadians must take a step back and determine whether we are following our own principles of neutrality, peace and justice or not. We have to understand that these are the values that have given us the deservedly great reputation throughout the world and have made us an admired nation. We must recognize that these very values are being hijacked and consequently causing danger for our country and fellow citizens.

In the mean time, we must refrain from scapegoating an entire community for the action of a significant minority. My love for this great nation and adherence to its values are as much as any other Canadian; it is no one's right to question it.

---

Shujaat Wasty is a board member of the South Asian Research Center (CERAS) located in Montreal. He can be reached at: shuj@b2b2c.ca