Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The Other Anti-Semitism

Police conduct an investigation in Kingston, Ont., on Jan. 24, 2019.

Yesterday I blogged about the scourge of anti-Jewish sentiment and the lack of understanding of the Holocaust amongst Canadians, particularly those who are younger,

I suppose it makes sense to write about the other form of anti-Semitism, which is anti-Islamic words and actions.

I'm sure we've all heard by now about the arrests in nearby Kingston, Ontario of two young men on suspicion of plotting terrorism. There was a huge coordination of security agencies, including the FBI in the States and the RCMP here. We should all be grateful that there are such agencies which are vigilant on our behalf.

Within 24 hours one of these men, a 20-year-old Syrian refugee, was released without charges. While he acknowledges knowing the other, a minor, he says that he had no knowledge of a plan to build and place a bomb, and the police appear to agree. His family was sponsored by several church groups and they are convinced that this young adult who is working diligently toward a better education would not be involved in anything like this. His parents and siblings endured the trauma of having the police enter their home without warning to search everything. The father insists that the family came to escape terrorism and simply want to build a new, peaceful life here.

I am inclined to believe them because I have been involved with the sponsorship of several Syrian families, all of whom are grateful for new beginnings. I have seen them both struggle and flourish with the help and guidance of people from various faith communities, including Christians who respect their Muslim religion.

I am disheartened but not surprised to hear that this young man and his family have received hate mail and threats since the arrests were made. It's clear that Islamophobia does exist in this country, and I'm disgusted that the leader of the Conservative party immediately made a statement criticizing the federal government's vetting process for refugees despite having no knowledge of what had transpired. We need leaders who encourage calm and measured responses to threats, not fear-mongering.

I have no idea of the seriousness of the plot by the other young man, who some are saying is sixteen. Authorities say there was no immediate threat to the public, so we have to wonder if this was a sledgehammer response, to use the words of Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno. Her column is well considered, although I was baffled by her annoyance that the father of the 20-year-old was upset by police walking across their family prayer mats. Would she react the same way if police entered the home of devout Christians and knocked over religious objects such as a cross? Whatever the necessity of the raid, who are we to say what should or shouldn't upset this family?

When Canada welcomed forty thousand Syrian refugees, many of whom were already traumatized by displacement and torture, there was the risk, however small, that someone would eventually commit a crime or be radicalized. This was discussed in many sponsorship groups and in our area those groups received attended training about mental health issues. 

 Take a look at our history and you'll discover that there have been plenty of white Christians from European countries who emigrated to Canada but never left their national conflicts behind. Go into a courthouse on any give day in this country and you'll find people who are charged with crimes, some heinous, despite having every privilege of being born here.

I will both pray for and be vocal about supporting those who have come to this country to begin again and I'll resist any attempts to demonize refugees because of racism and fear or religious stereotypes.

2 comments:

roger said...

I read DiManno's article in the Saturday Star and was angry and confused. On one hand, she seems to belittle the RCMP for using hundreds of officers and spending thousands of hours to investigate a Kingston teen, and she was emphatic about how inane it is to fuss over a teen. As if a teen could not inflict any kind of violence or terrorist acts(does she not remember the Boston Marathon bombers, just one of countless terrorist acts committed by teens?). Then she admits that young people can, in fact, commit acts of violence. It just seems the police can never win. They get chastised for arresting a teen and for making a dynamic entry into a house when executing a search warrant. But if they had not arrested this teen, what if he had killed innocent people? The police would be criticized for not preventing it. And what if the police had entered the residence casually, knocking on a door and politely awaiting a response, all while evidence is being destroyed, or the occupants were arming themselves against the police. That does happen, believe me.

In order to charge anyone with a terrorism offence under S. 83 of the Criminal Code, it must be approved by the Attorney General. The threshold for laying this charge is much higher than laying other charges under the CC. So rest assured that this investigation was thorough for that reason.

So let's stop blaming the police. The RCMP's mandate is national security, and that not only includes investigating terrorism but also trying to prevent it. They are actively engaged with youth to try to prevent radicalization to violent extremism. They work closely with communities because of the effects of racism and hatred by those who paint entire ethnic groups with the same brush.

The vast, vast majority of those who came to Canada as refugees from conflict zones such as Syria are people who are trying their best to make ends meet and learn the language. They have no desire to harm Canadians.

David Mundy said...

I appreciate your "damned if you do, damned if you don't" concerns Roger. And as I commented early on, we're all grateful for the diligence of the security agencies of our nation and others in combatting terrorism.

I must say that DiManno is no bleeding heart, and as a reporter its her job to ask the questions many of us might have. She does acknowledge that we'll probably never get answers because the teen is protected and I didn't find her critical of police, just wondering why there was such a high level of response if there was no perceived threat to the public.

As for the other young man, the real concern is not that the authorities eliminated him as a suspect, but that members of the public and politicians are using this as a springboard for Islamophobia and anti-immigration sentiment. And the family has the right to express its distress about what transpired, even if it was deemed necessary. This may change the trajectory of this family's integration into Canadian society irrevocably, which would be very sad.

Keep the comments and observations coming!