C3RF throws Op-Ed "hail Mary"
Every now and then I’ll launch a “hail Mary” downfield hoping the mainstream media sees fit to make a catch. These pieces of correspondence are inevitably dropped as they tend to rail against the social and political pieties of the day. They seek to debate issues that are generally “settled” facts or science and risk charges of one “phobia” or another. Indeed, it might be easier for me to put socks on a rooster than get one of my missives published in the MSM. I keep trying, though, as I’m an eternal optimist and remain buoyed by the fact that, no matter how many times I am rejected, I can still get my insubordinate tirades out to you – fellow travellers in the fight to preserve the right to express an opinion no matter how antediluvian it might be.
Anyway, here’s one that I just sent off into oblivion last week. It deals with the accreditation of the Islamic Party of Ontario as a political party in the named province. One would think it was a worthy topic of conversation as the proposed Party aims to introduce Sharia law in Ontario as an accepted component part of the province’s system of jurisprudence. When one reads the submission below, it is easy to see how this could be problematic from a citizen’s perspective regards his or her own access to Charter-guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms. Here’s the article:
Proposed Op-Ed article
Sharia in Canada: is Ontario the canary in the coal mine
The prospect of sanctioning Sharia law in Canada has been festering in the land since 2005. It was then that the Ontario government of Dalton McQuinty toyed with the idea of allowing Islamic principles, AKA Sharia law, to be used officially to settle Muslim family disputes. The response was both immediate and sweeping. Adversaries argued the initiative was naïve and a “betrayal of women” even as the Premier moved to nix the use of all religious arbitration in Ontario. Now, some 20 years later, we see the doors to Sharia law creaking open once again as Elections Ontario considers an application by the Islamic Party of Ontario for official party status.
The embryonic Islamic Party of Ontario needs to be thanked for their forthright declaration of making Ontario a Sharia compliant jurisdiction. Their platform is clear in stating that Islam is the native “DEEN”, or religion, of Ontario and that this requires Sharia law to “set the fundamental principles of the outlook of life and practices in private to public life --political, social, education, economy, health, environment, and the justice system”. Obviously, the Party intends that Sharia will dictate all aspects of daily life for all affected citizens. This, even as Islam’s sacred texts, the Qur’an and Sunnah, would make all other books of God “obsolete”. This raises the question; should we fear and reject the formation of a political party dedicated to making any part of Canada Sharia compliant?
Prime Minister Trudeau tells us we have nothing to fear from Islam as “it is not incompatible with Western secular democracy”. More than this, he shows little tolerance for those who would suggest otherwise and has even lashed out at “Islamophobes” for daring to criticize his magnanimous approach to returning ISIS fighters. Everyday Canadians can be forgiven for wondering if the PM has it right when they witness, almost daily, the atrocities carried out by terrorists. Terrorists who claim that jihad, sex-slavery and beheading are all justified by the same sacred texts that the Islamic Party of Ontario would have us live by. Who should we listen to? Do we not have an obligation to get it right before we open the door to Sharia in Ontario - or anywhere else in Canada?
It is a good thing for us that we do have an authoritative, written rendering of just what Sharia is and isn‘t. It comes to us in the form of the 14th century classical manual of Islamic sacred law - “The Reliance of the Traveller”. Although written centuries ago, the “Reliance” is by no means an irrelevant or outdated document. It enjoys current certificates of authenticity from the governments of Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia and is recognized by the most important seat of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, Cairo’s al-Azhar University, to be in conformance with “the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni community”. This is no small thing as the Sunni community comprises upwards of 85% of the total, worldwide, Muslim population. It is also noteworthy that all of the practices ascribed to Islam by ISIS are in fact found within its covers.
In the Canadian context, it needs to be noted that upwards of 70 % of the worldwide Muslim population supports Sharia as their preferred method of governance and almost all of the 14 countries recently designated to be eligible for the fast-tracking of asylum claims are Muslim-majority countries. This, in conjunction with a new U.N. Global Compact that Canada has signed and promises to open her doors to mass migration from the “Arab Spring” regions of the world, means support for Sharia is set to grow in Canada and grow exponentially. There can be little doubt that a political party dedicated to honouring Sharia stands to gain influence and power if current trends proceed unabated. The problem is - Sharia, as detailed in the “Reliance’, calls for discrimination against non-Muslims, against women, against apostates and against a wide variety of other “identifiable groups”. When it does so, as it inevitably will if unopposed, it will become a political instrument that will diminish Canada’s own supreme law including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The coming conflict is as plain to see as the nose on your face and Ontarians - on behalf of all Canadians - need to determine how it is to be addressed. Will the good citizens of Ontario, and ultimately Canada, allow the situation to evolve unopposed and trust the preservation of their individual rights and freedoms to the courts? The same courts that have demonstrated a propensity to “balance” away such rights in favour of the sensibilities of certain “identifiable groups”? Or should these same citizens press their leaders to create a firewall round these rights by nixing the Islamic Party’s application and/ or disallowing Sharia in any form? Either way, a national debate is required. What say you kick one off?
Major Russ Cooper (Ret’d)
March, 2019
Ongoing operations and trends
As threats to your Charter Rights mount and election 2019 nears, C3RF will be on the lookout for “fake news” from any quarter. In addition, we will be tracking the “free speech” legal suit against the Ottawa Public Library by C3RF’s own Valerie Price and Madeline Weld. Recall that initial cross-examinations were affected this past Wednesday and this case should be generating some interesting testimony in the near future. Additionally, other court cases are about to be registered that call into question our own government’s commitment to the “rule of law” and individual rights and freedoms. Can’t say much right now but these deliberations could make for a sea-change in how Canadians see their political, media and security elites. More to follow.
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Major Russ Cooper (Ret'd)
Co-Chair C3RF
