Toronto, Ontario
Mr. Conlogue writes that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has arrested several Muslims on suspicion of terrorist activity. This is inaccurate, and unfortunately may only serve to perpetuate a common misconception about csis and its powers. The service’s mandate, established by the csis Act in 1984, is to investigate threats to Canada’s security and report that information to the government. csis does not investigate criminal activity; it is a civilian security intelligence service with no law enforcement powers and cannot arrest or detain people.
Barbara Campion
Ottawa, Ontario
Ray Conlogue responds:
Rebecca Waserman’s insistence that Muslims reconcile themselves to Canada’s prevailing secular culture overlooks the fact that secularism appears to be on the wane. Muslims can now make common cause with the growing conservative Christian movement, not to mention orthodox Jews, in asserting their right to live a God-centred life. In this, Islam is no more esoteric or fanatic than these faiths, with which it has a close historic kinship. While this may be uncomfortable for Ms. Waserman and myself, in the end the democratic majority will have its way.
Stuart Nurse offers a highly selective reading of early Islamic history, including its relations with Jews. Some Jewish tribes joined with the dominant Arab tribe to attack Muslims, while others (such as those of Medina, where Muhammad sought refuge) felt kinship with the new monotheism and were treated well.
By our standards, early Islam was violent. By the standards of its own time, however, Islam was progressive: it tolerated polygamy because women without husbands were subject to many abuses, and offered women a half-share of a man’s inheritance where previously they received nothing. It would be absurd to judge early Islam—or early Christianity for that matter—by the standards of today. Nonetheless, the public perception that Islam is a violent religion will likely be reinforced by the London bombings in July. During such times of public anxiety, it is worth remembering that most of the world’s billion-plus Muslims condemn al Qaeda unequivocally.
Frank Dimant notes the comments made by Mohamed Elmasry on a television interview show, arguing that those views are incompatible with Canadian norms and values. Mr. Elmasry has since stated that he himself does not share his views. (Equally inflammatory views were expressed on the same show by Adam Aptowitzer, a B’nai Brith spokesman who has since resigned. Mr. Aptowitzer suggested that Israeli “terror” is an option to be used by states in order to prevent death of their own citizens and others.) Mr. Elmasry may hold private beliefs few Canadians share, including a desire for Islamic government in countries such as Egypt and Afghanistan. But in his public role as a spokesman for Canadian Muslims, he has stated unequivocally that Canada is a multicultural society and that Muslims must accept this reality.
Finally, I regret my error in ascribing powers of arrest to csis. The agency’s mandate requires it to persuade the Canadian government to detain those it suspects of terrorist sympathies. But in the end, there is little practical difference: security certificates have been issued in twenty-four of the twenty-seven cases in which csis requested them, and in all cases since September 11, 2001.
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