Canadian Politics Today

The problem is not criticing governments who impose laws based on regressive religious teachings, or politicians and leaders who support that.  It's the assumption that because an individual is Muslim, they must also support those things.  And that happens all the time, on these forums and out in the world.   

So if there is a new story about a Muslim beating his wife because its what he did back home, the narrative becomes "Muslims are misogynistic due to their religion" rather than about a single dirtbag who beats his wife.  If a news story comes out about a Muslim man who doesn't beat his wife, the narrative becomes the media/government is trying to hide the facts from us because a Muslim man who doesn't beat his wife is an aberration.  Its the assumption that an individual who wears a headscarf must also hate certain other groups, and examples to the contrary are dismissed as irrelevant.  Its the repitition of single news story about a gay person beong thrown off the roof in a Muslim-majority country provides as proof that all Muslims are homophobic.

Certainly one can criticize Islam for being steeped in traditional anti-women and patriarchal attitides.  One can criticize governments who use that to implement oppressive laws.  One can condemn individuals who act out of hate and fear.

But convicting every Muslim of those sins on no other basis than that they are Muslim isn't a valid criticism.  Dismissing examples contrary to the negative stereotypes as aberrations isn't valid criticism, doesn't recognize those Muslims who are risking freedom and even their lives to bring Islam into the modern world and is insulting to every law-abiding and progressive Muslim curtently in Canada.

Omni's artificial attempt to suggest there is no connect between a motion and a potential bill is false.  The attempt to suggest the motion about Islamophobia is only a motion and will not generate a law is bullshit. Its a feeler to see how far the Liberals can go down the road modifying freedom of speech laws and hate laws. It was a deliberate partisan reaction to pander to Muslims feeling upset over a hate crime in their mosque in Quebec City. It was crass and pandering and its what the Liberals do, pander with emotions.
 

The logic of the Ottawa Protocol frames those who focus on Israeli state policy as racist. It includes a clause that states criticism of Israel is acceptable, but then follows that singling out Israel for criticism is hateful.  This contradictory messaging sets precedent for the erosion of free speech in the media and especially on university campuses.

That last one. The government does not wish to engage in a series of prosecutions of Muslims which they fear might cause the Muslim community to turn against them as they did the Conservatives. The Liberals have no desire to get a reputation as tough on terrorism, or tough on Muslim extremism, or as a party which even cares about such things. They got almost all the Muslim vote last time around and they want to keep it.