"When a member of Islamic State wakes up
screaming in the night, terrified by a nightmare, it’s not images of
beheadings or rape or mass slaughter that bedevil him. No, his personal
hell is Canada – a pluralistic, tolerant Western society where Muslims
and people of all faiths and none are welcomed and live together in
peace. For terrorists who exploit religious hatred for their own ends,
that’s real horror.
Since the Paris attacks, Canada has seen
incidents that undermine those values. An arsonist set fire to a mosque
in Peterborough, Ont.; two thugs assaulted and robbed a Muslim woman in
Toronto, apparently because she was Muslim; racist graffiti has appeared
on buildings; and some Muslims have reported being verbally harassed.
Some say they feel so threatened that they are afraid to walk alone,
especially at night.
One imagines that
the people committing these vile acts of intolerance see themselves,
perversely, as patriots. In fact, they are the unwitting dupes of IS,
acting according to its script. Racist attacks that marginalize Muslims
become the propaganda that IS uses to advance its idea that the world is
one big, global religious war. Every time someone burns a mosque or
kicks a defenceless Muslim woman in the stomach, the IS cause is
advanced, and its soldiers sleep a little better.
Fortunately,
in typical Canadian fashion, a crowdfunding initiative to raise money
to repair the Peterborough mosque has far surpassed its goals, and local
residents have gone out of their way to show support for their
devastated Muslim neighbours. There are far more good and decent people
in Canada than hateful ones.
Even more
significantly, over the past few years Canadians have repeatedly
rejected politically motivated efforts to marginalize newcomers,
especially Muslims. Quebeckers sent the Parti Québécois and its Charter
of Values packing in 2013. Last month, Canadians said a loud “No” to the
divisive tactics of the Harper government, which deliberately demonized
Muslims with its attacks on the niqab and its ridiculous “barbaric acts
of cruelty” hotline.
In a world where a
small number of marginalized French citizens of Muslim descent were
recruited to carry out attacks in Paris, Canada’s best defences against
radicalization are its inherent decency, its generosity and its
acceptance of all cultures. Our values, and our expression of them, have
never been more important than now.
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