Quebec makes Islamophobia official

Quebec, the only French province in Canada, has given racism and Islamo-phobia official sanction. On March 24, the Quebec National Assembly passed a bill mandating Muslim women to remove their face and head covering before they would receive government services. Quebec premier, Jean Charest offered the strange excuse that this is necessary for gender equality.

   There is a very small number of Muslim women that wear the niqab. Opponents of niqab have argued that this is not required by Islam (correct) and therefore it should be banned (wrong). Whether niqab is mandated by Islam or not is not the issue; the issue is the right of women to dress the way they feel. Women in Canada can go topless but they are not allowed, at least in Quebec, to cover their faces.

   Typically, the niqab debate has degenerated into calls for those who do not adhere to “Canadian values” — whatever that may mean — to go back to where they came from. These comments overlook the fact that many Muslim women that have taken to wearing the niqab are born and raised in Canada. Some are even converts to Islam. The real issue is whether Muslim women have the same rights as other women in Canada. One loud-mouthed self-confessed secular Muslim even wrote to the prime minister to ban the niqab. Even the conservative prime minister had more sense than to accede to such a ludicrous demand that springs from the same mentality prevalent in many Muslim countries where rulers make all the laws.

 

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s terrible plight

I was extremely upset to read about the great torment to which Dr. Aafia Siddiqui has been subjected by the American crusaders. I have closely followed the court proceedings in New York; “kangaroo court” is the only way to describe it. The judge and jury ignored all the evidence that exonerated Dr. Siddiqui. How could this frail woman have grabbed a gun from a brute marine and then fired at him? Where were the empty casings of the bullets she allegedly fired?

   The court was not concerned about truth; its only mandate was to convict an innocent person. All the nonsensical allegations against her were accepted and every piece of evidence that proved her innocent was ignored. Shame also on successive Pakistani governments, especially the one headed by general Pervez Musharraf, that disgraceful creature who has fled Pakistan for fear of being arrested and put on trial. This traitor deserves to be hanged for the crimes against innocent Pakistanis in return for a few American dollars.

 
 
 

Aafia Siddiqui and Pakistanis

The news of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s conviction on murder charges by a New York court was received with shock and anger in Pakistan. Rallies were held in different parts of the country and people from all walks of life demanded justice for her. It is shocking that such injustice would be perpetrated by those calling themselves civilized. The verdict against Dr. Aafia was reflective of the law of the jungle that prevails in the US. If the Americans can do this to a frail woman who suffered the indignity of rape and torture in the US-administered Bagram prison in Afghanistan for many years, what must they be doing to men accused of terrorism. As your article noted (Crescent, March 2010), Dr. Aafia was not charged with any terrorism related offences.

 
 

Mabhouh killing

I cannot help but wonder that the Zionists must have received help, either from some officials in Dubai or some Palestinian agents, in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on January 20. While it is heartening to learn that the Dubai police were able to identify the killers so quickly, nothing is likely to come out of this episode because Western leaders will overlook every Zionist crime. Western officials complicit in such crimes should be held as accountable as the Zionist killers themselves. There can be no peace in the world until such criminals are brought to justice.

 

Our Crescent!

As a long-time subscriber of Crescent International, I eagerly look forward to every issue. I would like to extend heart-felt thanks and congratulations to your dedicated staff for bringing out such a remarkable magazine every month. Congratulations on entering the 39th year of publication of our favorite magazine: our very own Crescent International. May it stand high in the sky each month.