Editor's Note: Tom Quiggin describes how charges of “hate crime” are used to silence critics of Islam in Ontario, while true hate speech coming from mosques is ignored. Imagine what a law against “Islamophobia” arising from Motion M-103 would do to free speech.
Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi pictured with alleged Hezbollah Mullah Ali Sbeiti.
The use of criminal laws to silence dissent is increasing in Canada. This is especially true if you criticize the Government of Ontario. This “democratic” government will use the force of criminal law to silence any policy questions. Two recent cases highlight the problem. They stand in sharp contrast to where multiple other charges should have been laid but were not. The bias by the government in these cases is clear. In one case, Joseph Porco of Ontario was charged with mischief for writing “no more Muslims” on benches in bus shelters. He was convicted and sentenced to five months in jail. In sentencing, Mr Justice Ferhan Javed said. “It does not matter that he wasn’t charged with a specific hate crime because this was a hate crime disguised as mischief.” Joseph Porco has been diagnosed with a delusional disorder with persecutory features. His mental health may have been a factor in his behaviour, “but I simply can’t be sure of this,” the judge said. The judge also added: “There can be no other rational inference to be drawn except that he targeted a segment of the community based on religious grounds.” Mr Porco’s message was both hateful and hurtful to the community and needs to be deterred.” So, a quick analysis of the decision here. The police did not charge Joseph Porco with a hate crime, but rather mischief. The judge, however, took it upon himself to describe this as a “hate crime disguised as mischief.” Then there is the pending trial of Kevin Johnston. He is a former Mississauga mayoral candidate and politely put, is rather outspoken. He was charged by Peel Regional police with a hate crime on July 24th, 2017 after approval from Attorney General Yasir Naqvi. Approval from the Attorney General is required in Ontario for hate crimes cases. What horrible hate crime did Mr Johnston commit? Did he advocate genocide? Did he ask for the killing of a specific group of people? He publicly offered the cash reward of 1000 dollars for anyone who would provide him with video footage of Friday Muslim Prayers in taxpayer-funded public schools in Ontario. In Mississauga, about 17 of 19 public schools now have Friday prayers run by Muslim Student Association spinoff groups. Only a male can lead the prayer and the sermon. Boys sit at the front, girls at the back and unclean girls must sit at the very back or outside of the room. Unclean girls are those on their periods. This practice is, of course, a clear violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and it is occurring in taxpayer-funded public spaces Mr Johnston is being charged with a hate crime for asking for a film about activities that occur in public schools funded by taxpayers. For the record, it should be noted that still images of these prayers occurring already exist and they have been published across Canada in papers such as the Toronto Sun and the Toronto Star. The Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) is asking the Attorney General Yasir Naqvi of Ontario to reverse his decision to charge Johnston with a hate crime. “We believe that the proceedings are harmful to Canadian society, in addition to being unacceptably unjust towards a citizen.” They describe the charge as “systemically political.” They also believe that Section 319(2) of the criminal code – is an “obscene law” where the state is not ever having to prove actual harm, physical or psychological, to any actual person that they bring forth as a person that was harmed.” Mr Porco and Mr Johnston are in criminal trouble for their views. But what about the Dundas Street Mosque in Toronto? They call for the killing of Jews and apostates, as well as having open discriminatory positions against gays, women and transgendered folks. Dr El-Tantawi Attia is the Executive Director of the Dundas Street Mosque, which also houses the local chapter of the Muslim Association of Canada. He makes things clear when he tells the press that “Here, we follow the teachings of the Muslim Brotherhood.” This self-avowed Muslim Brotherhood mosque has the following statement in their supplications Destroy anyone who killed Muslims. Destroy anyone who displaced the sons of the Muslims. Count their number; slay them one by one and spare not one of them. Purify Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of the Jews! The full-time resident Imam of the Dundas Street Mosque was hired in 2014. Dr Wael Shehab holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University and was the Head of the Sharia and Fatwa sections at the English website, OnIslam.net, run by Yusuf Qaradawi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Dr Shehab is also a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) which is also run by Yusuf Qaradawi. Of note, Qaradawi says that the man is the head of the house and the family ITALICS because of his natural ability and his responsibility for providing for his family. He is entitled to the obedience and cooperation of his wife, and accordingly it is not permissible for her to rebel against his authority, causing disruption… Wife beating, according to Qaradawi, is permissible to maintain discipline. Sitting in safety in Qatar, Qaradawi also believes that some women enjoy being beaten. On an al Jazeera TV program, he stated “There is a woman who cannot agree to being beaten, and sees this as humiliation, while some women enjoy the beating, and for them, only a beating to cause them sorrow is suitable." Qaradawi also says that Allah Imposed Hitler On the Jews to Punish Them – Allah Willing, the Next Time Will Be at the Hand of the Believers – that is the Muslims will kill the Jews next time – which is consistent with the message of the Dundas street mosque whose imam is a member of Qaradawi’s union of so-called scholars Just for the record, the International Union of Muslim Scholars is listed as a terrorist entity by the United Arab Emirates while the Muslim Brotherhood is listed as a terrorist organization in a number of Middle Eastern countries. An official British report states that the Muslim Brotherhood has a highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism. The report also states that the Muslim Brotherhood is deliberately opaque and habitually secretive. The UK government report also believes that that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism. The Imam of the Dundas mosque also recommends that you read the book called the Fiqh of Jihad. This book says that you do not fight to achieve material or worldly goals. On the contrary, the objective of fighting is only to make the Word of Allah the uppermost. In other words, fighting can make Islam the dominant – if not the only religion in the world. It can be reasonably believed that this is a statement in support of offensive jihad. The Dundas Mosque has an imam who follows Qaradawi, supports wife beating and killing the Jews and apostates. Gays and transgender folks are to be oppressed and shunned. What charges did the mosque face after this statement calling for the killing of the Jews was made public while protestors gathered in front of the building to draw attention to the issues? None. Not even a note of condemnation from the government. No hate crimes charge time approved by Yasir Naqvi were put forth. Let us also remember that Kevin Johnston is just one person with a website and a twitter account. The Dundas Street Mosque is an institution with a board of directors that is part of national level organization known as the Muslim Association of Canada. The Masjid and the Toronto chapter office of MAC are in the same building. All of them part of the international Muslim Brotherhood movement which has a terrible reputation. They have real influence, a national following and a network of schools. Why was Kevin Johnstone charged and not them? What is the assessment of this activity in Ontario? If you put graffiti on a public bench stating “no more Muslims” you will go to jail and the judge can add his own views to the case – superseding the charges of the police who did not say it was a hate crime. If you ask for a video of a taxpayer-funded public school – you can be charged with a hate crime, even if still pictures of the events in question have already appeared in the main stream press. The chilling effect is working, and the message is out. If you do not remain submissive to the dictates of the Province of Ontario and if you openly speak out against the highly questionable activities of the province and its school system, you can be jailed. We can say that free speech is directly under attack and one of the greatest threats to free speech is the government which want to silence any criticism. These kinds of governments are especially terrified of those who draw attention to the foreign political ideology of the Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Khomeneists. Are we Islamophobic if we speak out against this? Will we go to jail or be detained at border crossings in so-called democratic states? Yes, we will. This article was originally published by The Post Millenial on March 21, 2018, and can be viewed on their site by clicking here.