Canada's Islamist Seat

Despite the Conservative victory in Canada, the Liberals can boast a new member of parliament, Omar Alghabra from the suburban Toronto riding of Erindale-Mississauga. Even before his election, Alghabra’s nomination victory made news because of the Islamic supremacist statements made then.

The event featured declarations such as "This is a victory for Islam! Islam won! Islam won! ... Islamic power is extending into Canadian politics!" as reported by Arab attendees, even those who had voted for Alghabra. Many said that Alghabra’s key supporter, councilor and Liberal party member Khalid Usman who came from Markham, took the podium with Alghabra, announcing, "We have the East, we have the West, and now we have Mississauga!" Outgoing Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish confirmed she heard several pro-Islamic remarks from Usman, that "made it sound like [Muslims] were taking over. It was extremely inappropriate." A Liberal party official, Elias Hazineh, heard Usman say, "this is a victory for Muslims". Usman onstage crowed to the crowd "although Mr. Hazineh (the riding president) keeps telling me he is a Christian I am telling him that he better be a Muslim," one witness reported. The Toronto Star reported that Alghabra supporters came from outside the riding and some were urging people to "vote for the Muslim, not the infidel."

When it remained unverified that Alghabra had personally made any of the statements, he vehemently denied any involvement, protesting that he did not agree with mixing politics and religion. He and the Liberal Party then threatened to sue anyone who said otherwise and the story was hushed up, suggesting that as long as Alghabra himself said nothing, no problem exists.

His official Liberal bio reveals he is an unmarried 36-year-old, Saudi-born Syrian who came to Canada at age 19 alone (his family remained in the Middle East), got an engineering degree from Ryerson University, and an MBA from York University. Some of his community work is mentioned - he sat on the Toronto Star’s unpaid community editorial board in 2003–04 and was president of the Canadian Arab Federation in 2004-05.

But some community work is left out: He was not only a member of, but a speaker for Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, a radical campus network urging corporate "divestment" from Israel. This organization also circulated anti-Jewish ‘bioweapon conspiracy" literature which helped incite the Concordia University riots in 2002. SPHR, which supports the "right of resistance" without denouncing suicide bombing, remains a group Alghabra defends in his writings and supports. Although many characterize the swastika-employing SPHR as more hate group than human rights group, and their members and activities are often barred from campuses, Alghabra invokes the right of "free speech" to pave their way.

He is also involved with the Islamic Society of North America. Upon his nomination victory, attendee Galal Abdelmessih noted that Alghabra thanked the Islamic Society of North America for supporting him. ISNA is being investigated in the United States for ties to terrorism. Its Toronto elementary school in 2004 received SR 1.03 million (about $350,000 Cdn.) from Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank, known for funding radical Wahabbiism.

Alghabra’s record also contains troubling elements: In 2002 the Canadian Arab Federation stated it did not consider Hamas, Hezbollah, or Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations and strongly pressured the Canadian government against criminalizing them. It lost and Ottawa did outlaw Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. As CAF president in 2004, however, Alghabra still defended terrorist groups, to the point of condemning CanWest media as "biased" for calling them "terrorist."

Asked if he would specifically denounce suicide bombers, Alghabra would not comment, but complained that he was being "trapped." His name appears on an August 2004 listing of Canadians who openly support terrorism. Yet Alghabra maintains that racist discrimination is the sole reason why since 2003 he has been denied U.S. entry unless he passes a security check which includes finger printing.

Alghabra denounced as "offensive" Bill C-7, the Public Safety Act to impede terrorist activities, calling security concerns a "pretext" to suspend rights. He charges it would use "shoddy intelligence" to support "power abuse" providing as example the 21 Muslims questioned upon returning from a Toronto conference. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner, Kristi Clemens, explains: "We had ongoing, credible intelligence that conferences such as this one in Toronto had been used, are being used, and will be used by terrorists to transmit fraudulent documents, to fundraise, and also to mask the travel of terrorists. Based on that information, we decided to have individuals verify they were who they said they were."

Although Alghabra smoothly says, "universities should be responsible when dealing with potentially confrontational and provocative issues," he contradicts himself in practice. When programs featuring accused Holocaust deniers or groups seeking Israel’s elimination trigger administrative delays, room changes, or extra security costs, he likens Canada to "dictatorial regimes" and charges universities with "muzzling" free speech.

Alghabra strongly denounces Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Royal Canadian Mounted Police practices as discriminatory, demanding ever more "safeguards" against what he calls their "mistakes and biases". However, CSIS is already one of the most open and accountable security intelligence organizations in the world.

Alghabra supported the Niagara Palestinian Association in their Formal Policy Complaint against an Ontario Provincial Police Chiefs’ terror prevention and management skills exchange trip to Israel. The complainants denigrated Canada’s recognition of Israel’s world renown in terror management and demanded the OPP learn from the Palestinians too. NPA president, Burhan Azzeh, was arrested when co-workers reported his threatening at work: "Maybe it’s time to blow up some Jews". His wife, NPA co-president Susan Howard Azzeh, organized a 2003 march against the Jewish state and its leader, featuring the swastika and Hitler.

Alghabra says he finds "any mixing of religion and politics offensive" yet supported the application of sharia in Canada, lamenting in Arabic that "the problem was ... we [Muslims] who were divided among ourselves and disunited in our ranks."

Alghabra claims to be "puzzled" that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requires that broadcaster Al Jazeera be edited to conform to Canadian hate laws, while allowing Fox News into Canada unrestricted. He insists the CRTC must grant the same privileges to a broadcaster routinely breaking Canadian laws by airing material that CRTC chairman Charles Dalfen said exposed people to "hatred and contempt on the basis of religion", as one that does not.

Alghabra has denounced numerous Canadian organizations or their practices including those of the RCMP, CSIS, the OPP, the CRTC, CanWest media, Canadian university administrations, the Public Safety Act, and government officials that are in place to fight terrorism and keep Canadians safe. Still he won’t denounce suicide bombers. Instead, he relentlessly demands freedoms for terrorist organizations, extremist groups, campus intimidations, and anti-Semitic media. He positions himself as a moderate; indeed, he speaks like a moderate, yet he consistently subordinates Canadian security norms and values to individual freedoms in order to advance militant Islam’s standard positions and causes.

It’s little wonder his supporters babbled with glee that Islamic power is extending into Canadian politics.

A riding is Canada's equivalent of a congressional district.

There are currently 308 ridings in Canada. The number and boundaries are adjusted following each dicennial census. Each riding elects one member of parliament. There are also provincial ridings whose boundaries are most likely not the same as the federal ones. This is because the number of members of a provincial Legislature are usually different than the numbar of members that the Province sends to Ottaws. During the Harris government in Ontario, the number of provincial ridings were reduced to correspond to the number of federal ridings in the province and the riding boundaries were made the same. During the same mandate, The number of city council wards in Toronto were reduced to be twice the number of Toronto ridings.

This would not be practical for provinces with a small population because it would result in a Provincial legislature with too few members. The same with smaller cities and towns.

Clive

I am glad to hear you are not one of THOSE Christians who find common ground with international Islam. I can find common ground with Judaism, since it is the foundation of the Christian faith. Islam was simply a cult that took off like wildfire, as it was seen as a means to unite an entire culture.

I have to admit that I adore military science. But I agree that no amount of science is going to save us from our own lack of vision and resolve.

I know it is confusing for Americans who are not familiar with Parliamentary systems. In my very humble opinion, your Republic is a superior system in the aim to reduce the power of government and secure the freedom of individuals - however, the Parliamentary form is far superior than the models that most European nations are built on. One exception may be the Swiss Confederacy. The Cantons have tremendous amount of power and independence. The one problem I have with the Swiss is the requirement to serve in the military. That seems to be a violation of individual rights.

I read that Quebec has the largest Muslim population in all of North America. I believe it. Under the Liberals - ANYBODY could get in and the United States had every right to complain. I would go so far as to say that this guy may well be the head of a terrorist cell right in Toronto. There are likely many of them. One day he may walk into the halls of government with C-4 strapped to this waist under his three piece suit. One day, maybe Liberal Torontonians may wake up but it may be too late!! Absolutely incredible that this could take place in our country. However it has been quickly declining for 13 straight years.

Don't blame the Liberal for this one.

Liberal don't control Quebec immigrtion since they got their own ministtry of immigration (yes, the ONLY province).
Most of them came from north africa and haitia.

Good luck....I hope your successful....

You have a lot of these guys roaming around, least that's how it looked when my family and I went on a vacation to the more beautiful Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

Waterfall = lovily

Wandering sheets and beards w/ turbins = very scary.

It's probably going to get really ugly before it gets better.

Unfortunately your social health care, etc. ...... is the perfect honey to attract these Arab nationals....they live on hand outs in the middle east so why not in the west where they have more freedom to decent without the paying the high price of loosing their heads, hands, feet etc. if they tick off the wrong person like in their former homeland.

Start with your immigration policies and then with your social programs...turn the honey into vinegar and the bees fly away to find more favorable conditions elsewhere.

...however, the Parliamentary form is far superior than the models that most European nations are built on.

Most European nations do have a parliamentary form of government. Though republics w/ a parl. sys., the two notable exceptions would be France and Russia. They're semi-presidential; i.e. parliamentary-presidential but their respective presidents have considerable executive powers. Russian president even has the power to dissolve the Parliament at his own discretion.

Presidents in other Euro countries have a largely ceremonial post (i.e. representing the state internationally, receiving visiting dignitaries, cutting the ribbon, etc.).

Isn't France on its 19th Republic? :) The fact France was built on the socialist blood letting of Danton and others, I am not confident that France is a free nation in any sense. Because Europe nations constantly rule under coalition I got the idea they were more proportional representation style governments.

LOL! I think they're on the 5th, aren't they? :-)))

Euro countries have so many electoral systems (variations of proportional and majoritarian) that it would take me days to go through them all.

My personal preference is the proportional system - for obvious reasons. Those against it usually cite the near impossibility of a single-party government, which, according to them, leads to instability.

As far as single-member plurality systems (the UK, for example) I just can't see any fairness in the fact that one single party can have a majority of seats with only circa 30% of the voters behind it. Basically, 70% of the electorate represents a minority in Parliament. Go figure. Up here in Canada, they're toying with the idea of prop. representation. I am not holding my breath, though. The biggest losers would be the Liberals and the Conservatives. The NDP and the Greens would gain a lot.

I'm Canadian as well. One of the reasons I dislike PR is that it would mean the NDP and Liberals would hold co-power and the conservatives would never hold power again.

I think the UK problem is that it is the sitting party's discretion to redraw the ridings. This works to Blair's benefit.

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