Thou shalt not criticize Islam! Canadian Islamic Congress wants to censor Mark Steyn

This press release was in my inbox this morning:

The Canadian Islamic Congress
Press Conference Announcement

The Islamic Congress launches human rights complaints against Maclean's magazine for publishing Islamophobic article

WHEN:
Tuesday, December 4, 2007 At 10:30 am

WHERE:
The Niagara Room (Lower Lobby),
Hotel Intercontinental,
Downtown Toronto next to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre,
225 Front Street West,
Toronto, Ontario.

WHO:
Faisal Joseph, CIC's Legal Counsel, Partner with the Law Firm of Lerners
LLP. Mr. Joseph is a former Federal and Provincial Crown Attorney, and
former Chair of the Criminal Section of the Canadian Bar Association (Nova
Scotia).

WHAT:
The Canadian Islamic Congress has launched human rights complaints against Macleans Magazine and its editor-in-chief, Kenneth Whyte, for publishing a flagrantly Islamophobic article, "The Future Belongs to Islam," in its Oct 23, 2006 issue.

This article continues to be published on the Macleans website at this web address.

The complaints have been submitted to the British Columbia, Ontario, and
Federal Human Rights Commissions on the grounds that the article subjects Canadian Muslims to hatred and contempt.

The complaints have been accepted by the British Columbia and the Federal
Commissions; hearings have been scheduled in British Columbia for June 2-6, 2008.

The press conference will be conducted by Mr. Faisal Joseph who will be
arguing the matter before the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

CONTACT:
Faisal Joseph
(519) 640-6342

Last October, I asked, Is it legal to say Muslim immigration is bad for Canada? According to some people the clear answer is no. Already during the ridiculous Muhammad cartoon controversy, the Star's Haroon Siddiqui wrote there is "a growing realization that freedom of speech is circumscribed." Siddiqui, by the way, thinks restricting speech is a good idea.

Better read Mark Steyn's article while it's still available. If some Muslims have their way, it will soon be illegal to say Muslim immigration is bad for the West. 9-11 be damned. Thou shalt celebrate multiculturalism! (Disclaimer: Christian-bashing is still OK.)

See also:

Windsor police board member wants speaker arrested for saying Islam promotes terrorism

Pakistani-Canadian journalist may have been beaten for questioning whether Muslim leader wrote Mohammed's name on the moon

The media's selective concern for free speech: Ernst Zundel and the Dixie Chicks

Dalhousie fallout - long National Post article about Jared Taylor, racism and freedom of speech

Asian Assasinz and other Toronto gangs use internet to recruit and intimidate

From the Toronto Star (Gangs turn to the Web to boast, threaten and recruit by Betsy Powell, November 19, 2007):

Just five years ago, a Toronto gang calling itself the Asian Assassinz had four members and claimed as its turf two blocks in downtown Chinatown.

Back then, they "tagged the living crap" out of the area, according to a police officer who has tracked them, but not any more because, now, "they have the Internet."

Police say gang members' appearances on Web pages, chat rooms, blogs and social networking sites have allowed the Assassinz to recruit new members and expand their criminal activities far beyond the downtown core.

[. . .]

An officer who tracks the Assassinz, and prefers to stay anonymous, patrols the streets building his base of confidential informants and getting to know gang members – when he's not trolling the Internet. He says the two investigative techniques complement one another.

The Internet allows a gang to grow and to reach out to areas where "they aren't known," the front-line officer says.

Four youths charged in a recent home invasion case in Windsor, Ont., for instance, are alleged to be members of the Asian Assassinz and Project Originals, another downtown Toronto gang.

Police were initially stumped as to how the accused knew that the residence, hundreds of kilometres from Toronto, was a suspected gambling operation. Then the Toronto officer searched the Internet and made a link to a southwestern Ontario man who recently pleaded guilty to the crime. The alliance of the Assassinz and P.O. Boys, as they're also known, came to the attention of police after they spotted Web pages containing both logos.

[. . .]

Read all of Betsy Powell's article.

See also:

Project Top Hoodlum - Fear of 'escalating conflict' with Regent Park gang led to Project Originals arrests