home  re. Local Muslims, MP wonder why cleric barred Canada is a multicultural nation. One of the things that helps preserve that multiculturalism is our tradition of acceptance of our differences and our belief that our diversity makes us stronger. We haven't always been this way however. At one time it was acceptable to Canadians to discriminate in immigration based on so-called race. And it wasn't all that long ago that activists like Bromley Armstrong showed that Canada had a colour barrier similar to what we associated with the American South. So we tried to do better. Over the decades we've strengthened our human rights codes and practices, and updated our laws to reflect the kind of society we want to become. Our building codes and construction practices are making it easier for people with disabilities to live in our communities. We want to be able to include everyone. And at the other end, our hate crimes laws are there to protect people from the sort of acts that should have ended with the defeat of the Nazis. The system doesn't always work, as was witnessed when a judge refused to convict skinheads for holding up signs saying "honk if you hate gypsies", but these failures are not as common as the successes. So why is there any question about why Sheikh Riyadh ul-Haq was prevented from entering Canada? His own words, available on his web site, tells Muslims that they should hate Hindus, Jews, homosexuals and even moderate Muslims. In fact, he goes so far as to ask for forgiveness for polluting the mosque before he mentions the term "homosexual". The full text of a letter jointly sent by the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Muslim Canadian Congress, the Hindu Dharma Mission (Canada) and Egale Canada to Immigration Minister Monte Solberg is available at www.muslimcanadiancongress.org. They make a convincing case that ul-Haq is not the sort of person we want in Canada. Sadly, there are too many people like him already in Canada, who want freedom of religion and freedom of speech to trump our hate laws. At least with ul-Haq we had the choice of not admitting him. I am profoundly disappointed with the Islamic Foundation for inviting this man to speak at their youth conference. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Surely they can find better role models for our young. Gary Dale, West Hill |