What those Muslims did was wrong. Their behavior was a violation of the sanctity of the House of God. They owe it to their faith to apologize to PM Trudeau for their misbehavior – Photo The Business Standard
I Apologize, Mr Trudeau, for the Misbehavior of Angry Muslims in the Mosque You Visited
By Dr Aslam Abdullah
CA
I am not a Canadian. Nor do I intend or desire to become a Canadian citizen. I watched a video showing Justin Trudeau visiting a Toronto mosque with some Muslims angrily asking him to leave the premises. They shouted Shame, Shame slogans and tried to prevent him from speaking.
Mr Trudeau visited the International Muslims Organization (IMO) Mosque in Etobicoke, Ontario. The Prime Minister's Office did not inform the media about his appearance. "Shame on you. How many more Palestinian children need to be slaughtered?" a woman in the crowd asks the Canadian Prime Minister outside the mosque. "How many more before you call for a ceasefire?"
But what those Muslims did was wrong. Their behavior was a violation of the sanctity of the House of God. They owe it to their faith to apologize to PM Trudeau for their misbehavior, and regardless of their response, I, as a Muslim American citizen of Indian origin, apologize with folded hands for the actions of those who misbehaved with him.
Regardless of your political, religious, or social views, you were there to ensure that Canada would not allow Islamophobia to haunt Muslims and that its government would not tolerate Muslim bigotry. You did much better than the rulers of many Muslim and Arab rulers, ensuring the response of those who rarely connect with their citizens in difficult times.
Muslims are not the original inhabitants of Canada. Most are immigrants. Many came running away from persecution. Others for better opportunities. Canada provided a safe place they call home. They have their constitutional rights that many had never heard of when they lived in their countries of birth.
Islam is not the official religion of Canada. Muslim citizens of the country have the same constitutional rights that others have. It is a secular country that does not believe religion offers much to society. Canada respects people for having different religious views, and even those who do not have any religious beliefs.
Muslims cannot dictate their religious or political ideals, no matter where they live. Suppose they have different views on politics, society, and foreign policy. In that case, they will have to be part of the Canadian polity and participate in political discussions with efforts to convince others of their viability and usefulness to the country. No one forced Muslims to acquire the Canadian citizenship. They came on their free will, knowing the nature of the society.
Many Canadian Muslims were upset with the Trudeau government for supporting the Zionist apartheid state and its stand on the LGBTQ community. Muslims are also unhappy with the response of Muslim rulers on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, yet we hardly see them demonstrating outside their embassies in Canada, Europe, or the USA. The agents of the regimes of such countries reportedly run several mosques in Canada. Yet, no one dared to challenge them for their stand openly.
Rather than shouting and showing their anger at Mr Trudeau, they could have channeled their energy positively by submitting a memorandum directing their concerns about his government policies. They missed the opportunity and turned the occasion into a disaster.
Their behavior is reprehensible, and Muslim Canadians, ISNA, ICNA, and other organizations must submit an apology to the Canadian Prime Minister for the misbehavior of the angry crowd. It was a shameful demonstration of anger, and it better not be condoned.
They may ask me what concern I have in this matter. The incident violates the fundamentals of Islam, and as a member of this faith, I must speak up and register my dissent, regardless of the consequences.
More than half of Canadian Muslims live in Ontario , with a significant populations living in Quebec , Alberta , and British Columbia . The percentage of Muslims in Canada is 4.9% as of the 2021 census. In the Greater Toronto Area , 9.6% of the population is Muslim, and in Greater Montreal , 8.7% is Muslim.
Middle Eastern 716,910 40.37%
South Asian 595,085 33.51%
European 190,460 10.73%
African 183,670 10.34%
Southeast Asian 11,935 0.67%
Latin American 2,610 0.15%
East Asian 2,320 0.13%
Indigenous 1,840 0.1%
Other/ Multiracial 70,885 3.99%
Total 1,775,715 100%
(Dr Aslam Abdullah is a resident scholar at Islamicity.org and editor-in-chief of the Muslim Observer newspaper. He is also the Indian Islamic Heritage Project director of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian origin and the interim President of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations, WCMIR.)
