Tarek Fatah
Encyclopedia
Tarek Fatah Urdu
: طارق فتح (born November 20, 1949) is a Canadian political activist, writer, and broadcaster. He is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State published by John Wiley & Sons
. In the book Fatah challenges the notion that the establishment of an Islamic state
is a necessary prerequisite to entering the state of Islam. He suggests that the idea of an Islamic state is merely a mirage that Muslims have been made to chase for over a millennium. Chasing a Mirage was shortlisted for the $35,000 Donner Prize
for 2008–09.
Fatah's second book, titled The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism, was published by McClelland & Stewart in October 2010.
In May 2009, Fatah joined CFRB 1010. Later that fall, he joined John Moore
's morning show as a contributor. Currently, he co-hosts "Friendly Fire," with Ryan Doyle on CFRB NewsTalk 1010's evening show.
Fatah is the founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress
. Fatah advocates gay rights, a separation of religion and state, opposition to sharia law, and advocacy for a "liberal, progressive form" of Islam
. Some of his activism and statements have met with considerable criticism from Canadian Muslim groups.
, Pakistan
, Fatah was a student leftist radical
in the 1960s and 1970s. Although he graduated with a degree in biochemistry
from the University of Karachi
, Fatah entered journalism as a reporter for the Karachi Sun in 1970, and was an investigative journalist for Pakistani Television. He left Pakistan and settled in Saudi Arabia
, before emigrating to Canada.
Fatah married Nargis Tapal, and they have two daughters, Natasha and Nazia. Natasha Fatah
is a producer for CBC Radio
's As It Happens
. His younger daughter Nazia Fatah, who is autistic, is a partner in a co-operative catering business for young adults with disabilities. In February, 2011, it was discovered Fatah had a massive tumour on his spine and underwent surgery to remove it. He has recovered and is currently considered cancer free.
(NDP) and worked on the staff of Premier
Bob Rae
. Fatah was an NDP candidate in the 1995 provincial election
but was unsuccessful. He subsequently worked for Howard Hampton
. In July 2006, he left the NDP to support Bob Rae
's candidacy for the Liberal Party of Canada
's leadership. In an opinion piece published in Toronto's Now Magazine, Fatah wrote that he decided to leave the NDP because of the establishment of a "faith caucus" which he believes will open the way for religious fundamentalists to enter the party. However, after Rae's defeat by Stéphane Dion
, Fatah condemned similar racial and religious organizing activity in the Liberal Party, arguing in a Globe and Mail
editorial that Tamil
, Sikh
, Kurdish
and Islamist
Muslim
leaders had engaged in "racial and religious exploitation" to "sell" the votes of their blocs of delegates "to the highest bidder."
At a press conference on October 2, 2008, Fatah sharply criticized the New Democratic Party
(NDP). Fatah stated that he was a lifetime social democrat who had supported the NDP for 17 years but that he could no longer be affiliated with that party. He stated that the NDP began opening its doors to Islamists under Alexa McDonough
and now, under Jack Layton
, he has seen them "flood" into the party. Fatah stated that Islamists in the NDP have pursued a campaign to instill a sense of victimhood in Muslim youth.
, author Tariq Ali
, and Mubin Shaikh
on his program, which aired on the Crossroads Television System
on Saturday nights at 8:00 PM.
Fatah has also written opinion pieces for various publications including TIME Magazine, the Toronto Star
, the National Post
and the Globe and Mail.
He has also been a guest host of TVO's The Agenda
filling in for Steve Paikin
. In February 2007, Fatah was included by Maclean's magazine on a list of 50 Canadians described as "Canada’s most well known and respected personalities.". In December 2008, Canada's largest circulating newspaper, the Toronto Star
, suggested to Prime Minister Stephen Harper
that he appoint Fatah to one of the vacant seats in the Canadian Senate. Toronto Stars senior editor Bob Hepburn wrote this about Fatah: "A prominent spokesperson for secular and progressive Muslim issues who would bring a much-needed unique perspective to the Senate."
From May to September 2009, Fatah co-hosted the "Strong Opinions Show" on Toronto's CFRB 1010. After the show's cancellation he joined CFRB's Moore in the Morning program as a commentator.
Starting in September, 2010, Fatah joined Ryan Doyle as a co-host of "Friendly Fire," the evening show on CFRB 1010
in 2001 and served as its communications director and spokesperson until 2006. In this capacity, he has spoken out against the introduction of Sharia
law as an option for Muslims in civil law
in Ontario
, Sharia banking in Canada, which he has described as a 'con-job', promoted social liberalism in the Muslim community and the separation of religion from the state, and endorsed same-sex marriage
. He resigned as the communications director of the MCC in August 2006, claiming that his public profile as a socially liberal Muslim had put him and his family at risk.
The large majority of the founding members left the Muslim Canadian Congress over the years. This culminated in a dramatic split in the summer of 2006 when the remaining founders, including the entire executive and several other Board members left to form the Canadian Muslim Union
(CMU). According to the Globe and Mail, the split occurred when some members of the MCC's former board marched in a Toronto anti-war rally where banners and photographs supporting Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah
and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were paraded. While the current members of the MCC wanted nothing to do with Hezbollah, it was claimed that other executive members participated or supported the demonstrations, and resigned and formed the new CMU the next day.
This version of events is challenged in the resignation statement published by the exiting board members, which cited their belief that the Muslim Canadian Congress could no longer achieve its goal of influencing the Muslim community. According to some who split with Fatah, he and other Board members had participated in several earlier demonstrations where the same banners were displayed by some members of the crowd, including two just weeks before the split.
The CMU's philosophy of Liberal Islam is similar to the MCC's, but with an intention to work "with and within the Muslim community", as opposed to MCC's tendency to attack the Muslim community from outside.
in the pages of the Globe and Mail in which he repudiated the thanks she gave him in the acknowledgment section of her book The Trouble with Islam
. Fatah wrote of Manji's book that it "is not addressed to Muslims; it is aimed at making Muslim-haters feel secure in their thinking." Manji replied saying that he told her in front of witnesses that "This book was written by the Jews for the Jews!"
However, Fatah recently said that he regrets his remarks and that he was unfair in slamming Manji's book. He now says that she was "right about the systematic racism in the Muslim world" and that "there were many redeeming points in her memoir, which I overlooked in my rush to judge it."
and opposed secular education for Muslims, is a sharp critic of Fatah's moderate views. Fatah later stated that he cancelled his appearance because the moderator was changed shortly before the event was to begin, angering Mr. Fatah, who described the audience as “hostile.” His associates with the Muslim Canadian Congress
then requested one of their replacement moderators be called in, angering Farooq Khan, executive director of NAMF, who described MCC members as full of “hyperbole and imaginary fear.” Fatah also claimed that he was warned by police of threats to his safety, though he added he has no proof.
, denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for calling for the destruction of Israel
.
Fatah stated that "The mullahs who control Iran with an iron grip merely use the pain of the Palestinian occupation for their own advantage in diverting people's attention from other pressing matters. They talk about wiping out Israel, but in reality the only people they have wiped out are fellow Iranians by the tens of thousands. After a reign of terror that killed thousands and drove many more into exile, they have used torture, arbitrary arrest, vigilante justice and murder to silence fellow Muslims in Iran."
Fatah added that Ahmadinejad "insults Islam by usurping it to serve his own narrow political interests" and that "with friends like the Iranian ruling ayatollahs, the Palestinians do not need enemies."
The Muslim Canadian Congress
, which Tarek Fatah founded and led till August 2006, supported the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel as of May 2006. The Congress also compared Israeli policies to South African apartheid.
"for posturing as a deliverer of freedom while occupying Iraq." Regarding Iraq, Fatah wrote that "both Iran and the U.S. have helped destroy a nation."
throughout the Afghan war against the Soviet Union
."
Fatah argues that "Most secular and liberal institutions were destroyed piece by piece and what we are left with is the result of huge amounts of cash and weapons in the hands of the Taliban type, or Al-Qaeda groups that get their intellectual sustenance from the political teachings of the Muslim Brotherhood
founder Hassan Al-Banna
and the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami
, Abul ala Maudoodi
, both of who preached Jehad as an obligation for all Muslims if they saw another Muslim under attack."
He has stated that converts adopting the niqab
face covering is indicative of joining "a cult", and offensive to Islam.
and Iran
and their call for imposition of Shariah."
, a fellow board member of the Muslim Canadian Congress, about the location of the proposed Cordoba House mosque near Ground Zero, he stated:
. It's the central point on which the Muslim Canadian Congress
and I have faced outright hostility, verging on violence. There is near unanimity in any religious group that this is the ultimate sin and, for them, this amounts to the ultimate betrayal." Regarding Islam and homosexuality
, Fatah stated that "Our human rights cannot revolve around religion. It's not about our rights, it's about human rights."
Fatah also criticized the support of some gay and lesbian Muslims for Hezbollah, "There's the sudden romanticization of Hezbollah. But I cannot walk with, cannot even build a coalition with, a group which thinks gays and lesbians should be killed… I haven't ever heard them condemn what's happening in Iran and Saudi Arabia. I would like to see a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy by the gay and lesbian community."
(OHRC) dismissed a complaint about allegedly Islamophobic articles in Maclean's
magazine. However, the commission denounced the newsweekly for publishing articles that were "inconsistent with the spirit" of the Ontario Human Rights Code, and doing "serious harm" to Canadian society by "promoting societal intolerance" and disseminating "destructive, xenophobic opinions."
Fatah stated that for the Commission "to refer to Maclean's magazine and journalists as contributing to racism is bullshit, if you can use that word" and that the Commission has unfairly taken sides against freedom of speech in a dispute within the Canadian Muslim community between moderates and fundamentalists. "There are within the staff [of the Ontario Human Rights Commission], and among the commissioners, hardline Islamic supporters of Islamic extremism, and this [handling of the Maclean's case] reflects their presence over there" and that "In the eyes of the Ontario human rights commission, the only good Muslim is an Islamist Muslim. As long as we hate Canada, we will be cared for. As soon as we say Canada is our home and we have to defend her traditions, freedoms and secular democracy, we will be considered as the outside."
In a press conference on October 2, 2008, Fatah stated that the OHRC has been "infiltrated by Islamists" and that some of its commissioners are closely linked to the Canadian Islamic Congress
and the Canadian Arab Federation
, both of which, according to Fatah, have "contempt for Canadian values."
Fatah also stated that: "In refusing to step aside, Elmasry and the CIC have demonstrated the authoritarian and dictatorial nature of their structure.…They purport to speak for Canada's 600,000 Muslims, but are not accountable or answerable to them.…We demand he [Elmasry] not…masquerade as leader of the community."
Fatah wrote that "Elmasry accused his Muslim opponents of being traitors to their faith—an allegation that is read as a charge of apostasy, with all its ugly consequences" and that "It is especially sad that Mohamed Elmasry and his allies have chosen the holy month of Ramadan to launch their broadside on progressive Muslims."
In June 2006, Elmasry named four public figures – Fatah among them – of taking every opportunity to bad-mouth Islam. Specifically, Elmasry stated that Fatah is "well known in Canada for smearing Islam and bashing Muslims." Fatah blasted Elmasry, stating that "[t]his is a classic threat to label anyone as an apostate and then marginalize them," … "and this is what Mr. Elmasry has done by listing me as the top anti-Islam Muslim." Fatah stated that he views the label from Elmasry as tantamount to a death sentence. However, some Islamic scholars disagreed with Fatah's characterization of Elmasry's comments. Leonard Librande, professor of religion at Carleton University
, told CTV News "There's nothing particularly Islamic in this… There are differences of opinion frequently in the community. It doesn't mean somebody is going to kill you."
However, Fatah has argued that "in the Muslim world … allegations of apostasy are used to silence critics and human rights workers" and that "Some interpretations of Sharia call for apostates to be killed. Such views have forced many Muslims to flee their countries of birth and take refuge in tolerant Western nations such as Canada. To now find ourselves harassed in Canada by some Muslims here is alarming and ironic."
Fatah supported his concern by noting that a book, distributed for free at a Toronto Conference in September 2005 by the Islamic Council of North America, stated that "Jihad is as much a primary duty as are daily prayers or fasting. One who avoids it is a sinner. His every claim to being a Muslim is doubtful. He is plainly a hypocrite who fails in the test of sincerity and all his acts of worship are a sham, a worthless, hollow show of deception."
, President of the Canadian Islamic Congress, told the Globe and Mail that "Tarek Fatah's views are diametrically opposed to most Muslims. There is a tremendous amount of discussion in the community. His point of view contradicts the fundamentals of Islam." Fatah has written to the RCMP to complain about the CIC's article claiming that it "is as close as one can get to issuing a death threat as it places me as an apostate and blasphemer."
(CAF) in an article published in the National Post
. Fatah, who received the CAF's highest award in December 2001, stated that the CAF's current leadership has turned the organization "into a mouthpiece for Hamas and Hezbollah in Canada." Fatah stated that the CAF used to sponsor debates on the pros and cons of the Oslo peace accord but today labels "any backer of the two-state solution [as] a traitor to the Muslim cause."
Fatah opened by sharply criticizing CAF President Khaled Mouammar for calling Immigration Minister Jason Kenney
a "professional whore" because Mr. Kenney criticized the display of Hamas and Hezbollah flags at a CAF-backed protest rally. Fatah also claimed that the CAF also referred to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff
by the same label. Fatah also criticized Mouammar for sending out an email during 2006 Liberal party leadership campaign which stated that "[Bob] Rae
's wife is a vice-president of the CJC Canadian Jewish Congress
, a lobby group which supports Israeli apartheid." Fatah also stated that Mouammar sent Muslim delegates a flyer that stated: "Bob Rae supports Israeli apartheid. Don't elect a leader who supports apartheid."
Fatah stated that CAF's vice-president in Ontario, Ali Mallah, referred to the Muslim Canadian Congress
in an online forum as "house negros
(sic)." He also claimed that Mallah sent out an e-mail message that was headlined: "Dion, Rae & Cotler: pro-Apartheid & anti-Human Rights." Fatah claimed the message also contained the following remarks:
Fatah also claimed that Mallah attacked him personally, claiming that he has "no shred of decency of integrity left" and claiming that he served "Zionist masters."
Fatah concluded by stating that Canada's Arab community should demand that Khaled Mouammar and Ali Mallah step down and "not bring further shame to their community." He then called for a new leadership in the tradition of former leaders John Asfour Jim Kafieh, Jehad Aliweiwi and Raja Khouri.."
later posted it in its original form. In the message Mallah wrote that:
's name and in 2006 when he was accosted on Yonge Street
by a man who accused him of being an apostate. His car windows have also been smashed. On August 4, 2006, Fatah announced his resignation as the MCC's communications director because of concerns for his safety and the safety of his family, stating that "it's not just for me. It's for my wife and my daughters."
In early 2011, Fatah received a threat via Twitter from a sender signed herself as Mariama AnnaLitical, who included a picture of herself wearing a purple hijab, stating that "This is an open threat to Xaar Boy @Tarek Fatah...I know where you live & and where your office is.” She later sent a second Twitter message, reiterating that "This is an open threat. I know where you live/work @TarekFatah.” Fatah contacted the Toronto Police Department and later met with two uniformed policemen from 51 Division. However, Fatah stated that barely one minute later, that "Two men entered the room and told everybody else to leave. They did not identify themselves, but five minutes into what amounted to a two-hour interrogation, I realized they were police intelligence officers. One of them, I recognized by reputation – a Muslim officer who had shut down a previous investigation into a death threat against me in 2008." After the intelligence officers left, Fatah stated that "the original officers confided to me that it was unusual for “intel” to act before a report had even been filed. I realized this was now about politics, and nothing would be done to help me. Later that night, the same Muslim officer called me to say AnnaLitical posed no danger. “She didn’t mean to say it,” the officer said. I asked if any charges were laid. “No,” he said. “I didn’t think it was necessary.”"
Fatah sharply criticized the Toronto Police over this incident, stating that:
On October 9th, 2011 Tarek Fatah reported on his Facebook
page that he had received threats from a Kahane Chai member warning him that if he does not within "48 hours" make his Facebook status: "I accept Israel as a Jewish state", or else his party would be over. On his weekly talk show with Newstalk 1010 he brushed off the threat and hosted Zach Paikin who provided in-depth analysis into radical Jewish groups in Canada, such as the Jewish Defence League and Kahane Chai.
The Toronto Star introduced the book to its readers as "A cri de coeur… succinctly yet with power." In a review of a chapter in the book titled, "The Prophet is Dead," the Toronto Star said, "Fatah had broached the mother of all taboos."
Emran Qureshi wrote a critique of the book in the Globe and Mail. The book was praised by the Mackenzie Institute, which stated that it is "is a direct challenge to the fanatics of the Wahhabi, Deobandi, and Khomeinist traditions. His exposition is solidly rooted in the oldest texts and histories of Islam and argues that the pursuit of an imperial Islamic state has soiled the religion, and violates the intentions of Mohammed himself."
In February, 2011, Fatah was scheduled to have a debate with Imam Sheheryar Shaikh of the North American Muslim Foundation (NAMF). Amidst much controversy, Fatah did not show up for the debate event and left many of his supporters disappointed.
On March 31, 2009, the Donner Foundation announced "Chasing a Mirage" had been shortlisted for their $35,000 prize awarded to non-fiction texts covering public policy.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: طارق فتح (born November 20, 1949) is a Canadian political activist, writer, and broadcaster. He is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State published by John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
. In the book Fatah challenges the notion that the establishment of an Islamic state
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law...
is a necessary prerequisite to entering the state of Islam. He suggests that the idea of an Islamic state is merely a mirage that Muslims have been made to chase for over a millennium. Chasing a Mirage was shortlisted for the $35,000 Donner Prize
Donner Prize
The Donner Prize is an award given annually by the Donner Canadian Foundation for books considered excellent in regard to the writing of Canadian public policy. The prize was established in 1998. The grand prize is $35,000; short-listed finalists receive $5,000 each...
for 2008–09.
Fatah's second book, titled The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism, was published by McClelland & Stewart in October 2010.
In May 2009, Fatah joined CFRB 1010. Later that fall, he joined John Moore
John Moore (broadcaster)
John Sanford Moore , better known as John Moore, is a Canadian radio and television broadcaster, film critic, actor, voice actor and comedian. He works for CFRB 1010 in Toronto, Ontario.-Early life:...
's morning show as a contributor. Currently, he co-hosts "Friendly Fire," with Ryan Doyle on CFRB NewsTalk 1010's evening show.
Fatah is the founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress
Muslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
. Fatah advocates gay rights, a separation of religion and state, opposition to sharia law, and advocacy for a "liberal, progressive form" of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Some of his activism and statements have met with considerable criticism from Canadian Muslim groups.
Personal life
Born in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Fatah was a student leftist radical
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
in the 1960s and 1970s. Although he graduated with a degree in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
from the University of Karachi
University of Karachi
The University of Karachi is a public university located in Karachi, Pakistan. It serves an on-campus student population of more than 24,000. According to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, it is ranked among the top three universities of the country...
, Fatah entered journalism as a reporter for the Karachi Sun in 1970, and was an investigative journalist for Pakistani Television. He left Pakistan and settled in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, before emigrating to Canada.
Fatah married Nargis Tapal, and they have two daughters, Natasha and Nazia. Natasha Fatah
Natasha Fatah
Natasha Fatah Urdu: نتاشا فتح is a Canadian journalist, based in Toronto, Ontario.In the summer of 2010, Fatah hosted the new CBC Radio One summer program Promised Land, a series which presents stories of harrowing, exciting and often-dangerous escapes to Canada, as told by the immigrants and...
is a producer for CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
's As It Happens
As It Happens
As It Happens is a long-running interview show on CBC Radio One in Canada. Its 40th anniversary was celebrated on-air on 18 November 2008. It has been one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on CBC Radio; it is also distributed in the United States by Public Radio International.The bulk of the...
. His younger daughter Nazia Fatah, who is autistic, is a partner in a co-operative catering business for young adults with disabilities. In February, 2011, it was discovered Fatah had a massive tumour on his spine and underwent surgery to remove it. He has recovered and is currently considered cancer free.
Political activity
He became involved in the Ontario New Democratic PartyOntario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
(NDP) and worked on the staff of Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
. Fatah was an NDP candidate in the 1995 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
but was unsuccessful. He subsequently worked for Howard Hampton
Howard Hampton
Howard George Hampton, MPP is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He has served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, since 1987 as the Member of Provincial Parliament from the northern riding of Kenora—Rainy River. A member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, he was also the party's...
. In July 2006, he left the NDP to support Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's candidacy for the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
's leadership. In an opinion piece published in Toronto's Now Magazine, Fatah wrote that he decided to leave the NDP because of the establishment of a "faith caucus" which he believes will open the way for religious fundamentalists to enter the party. However, after Rae's defeat by Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
, Fatah condemned similar racial and religious organizing activity in the Liberal Party, arguing in a Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
editorial that Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
, Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
, Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
and Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
leaders had engaged in "racial and religious exploitation" to "sell" the votes of their blocs of delegates "to the highest bidder."
At a press conference on October 2, 2008, Fatah sharply criticized the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP). Fatah stated that he was a lifetime social democrat who had supported the NDP for 17 years but that he could no longer be affiliated with that party. He stated that the NDP began opening its doors to Islamists under Alexa McDonough
Alexa McDonough
Alexa Ann Shaw McDonough OC is a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Canada, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's leader in 1980...
and now, under Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
, he has seen them "flood" into the party. Fatah stated that Islamists in the NDP have pursued a campaign to instill a sense of victimhood in Muslim youth.
Media activity
From 1996 he hosted Muslim Chronicle, a Toronto-based current affairs discussion show focusing on the Muslim community. This program is no longer managed by Fatah, and another Muslim organization has ostensibly taken over the TV time available to him. Fatah interviewed notables such as journalist Husain HaqqaniHusain Haqqani
Husain Haqqani or Hussain Haqqani is the former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, appointed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in April 2008 and was resigned on November 22, 2011...
, author Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...
, and Mubin Shaikh
Mubin Shaikh
Mubin Shaikh was one of two informants for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in the 2006 Toronto Terrorism case, and moved on to become a paid Royal Canadian Mounted Police agent...
on his program, which aired on the Crossroads Television System
Crossroads Television System
Crossroads Television System, or CTS, is a privately held Canadian television system.CTS airs predominantly Christian-based religious programming, most notably 100 Huntley Street, The Michael Coren Show and LIFE Today with James & Betty Robison, as well as other religious and faith based...
on Saturday nights at 8:00 PM.
Fatah has also written opinion pieces for various publications including TIME Magazine, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
and the Globe and Mail.
He has also been a guest host of TVO's The Agenda
The Agenda
The Agenda with Steve Paikin is the flagship current affairs program of TVOntario, Ontario’s public broadcaster. The show practises what anchor and senior editor Steve Paikin calls "long-form" journalism. Each hour-long program tackles no more than two topics, and often only one...
filling in for Steve Paikin
Steve Paikin
Steve Paikin is a Canadian journalist, author, and documentary producer at TVOntario . He is currently anchor and senior editor of TVO's flagship current affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin, and previously hosted TVO's Studio 2 and Diplomatic Immunity.A native of Hamilton, Ontario,...
. In February 2007, Fatah was included by Maclean's magazine on a list of 50 Canadians described as "Canada’s most well known and respected personalities.". In December 2008, Canada's largest circulating newspaper, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, suggested to Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
that he appoint Fatah to one of the vacant seats in the Canadian Senate. Toronto Stars senior editor Bob Hepburn wrote this about Fatah: "A prominent spokesperson for secular and progressive Muslim issues who would bring a much-needed unique perspective to the Senate."
From May to September 2009, Fatah co-hosted the "Strong Opinions Show" on Toronto's CFRB 1010. After the show's cancellation he joined CFRB's Moore in the Morning program as a commentator.
Starting in September, 2010, Fatah joined Ryan Doyle as a co-host of "Friendly Fire," the evening show on CFRB 1010
Muslim Canadian Congress
He was one of the founders of the Muslim Canadian CongressMuslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
in 2001 and served as its communications director and spokesperson until 2006. In this capacity, he has spoken out against the introduction of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law as an option for Muslims in civil law
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Sharia banking in Canada, which he has described as a 'con-job', promoted social liberalism in the Muslim community and the separation of religion from the state, and endorsed same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
. He resigned as the communications director of the MCC in August 2006, claiming that his public profile as a socially liberal Muslim had put him and his family at risk.
The large majority of the founding members left the Muslim Canadian Congress over the years. This culminated in a dramatic split in the summer of 2006 when the remaining founders, including the entire executive and several other Board members left to form the Canadian Muslim Union
Canadian Muslim Union
The Canadian Muslim Union is a registered not-for-profit corporation in Canada.The CMU was started on August 20, 2006 following an unsuccessful attempt to resolve deep divisions in the Muslim Canadian Congress board...
(CMU). According to the Globe and Mail, the split occurred when some members of the MCC's former board marched in a Toronto anti-war rally where banners and photographs supporting Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah
Hasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...
and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were paraded. While the current members of the MCC wanted nothing to do with Hezbollah, it was claimed that other executive members participated or supported the demonstrations, and resigned and formed the new CMU the next day.
This version of events is challenged in the resignation statement published by the exiting board members, which cited their belief that the Muslim Canadian Congress could no longer achieve its goal of influencing the Muslim community. According to some who split with Fatah, he and other Board members had participated in several earlier demonstrations where the same banners were displayed by some members of the crowd, including two just weeks before the split.
The CMU's philosophy of Liberal Islam is similar to the MCC's, but with an intention to work "with and within the Muslim community", as opposed to MCC's tendency to attack the Muslim community from outside.
Break with Irshad Manji
In 2003, Fatah engaged in a high-profile break with Irshad ManjiIrshad Manji
Irshad Manji is a Canadian author, journalist and an advocate of "reform and progressive" interpretation of Islam. Manji is director of the Moral Courage Project at the Robert F...
in the pages of the Globe and Mail in which he repudiated the thanks she gave him in the acknowledgment section of her book The Trouble with Islam
The Trouble with Islam
The Trouble with Islam Today, original title The Trouble with Islam is a 2004 book critical of Islam written by Irshad Manji, styled in an open-letter addressed to concerned citizens worldwide - Muslim or not.-Contents:...
. Fatah wrote of Manji's book that it "is not addressed to Muslims; it is aimed at making Muslim-haters feel secure in their thinking." Manji replied saying that he told her in front of witnesses that "This book was written by the Jews for the Jews!"
However, Fatah recently said that he regrets his remarks and that he was unfair in slamming Manji's book. He now says that she was "right about the systematic racism in the Muslim world" and that "there were many redeeming points in her memoir, which I overlooked in my rush to judge it."
Tarek Fatah and Imam Sheharyar Shaikh
Fatah was criticized after he failed to appear for a scheduled debate with Imam Sheharyar Shaikh, the President of North American Muslim Foundation (NAMF) and Imam of Masjid Qurtabah, despite confirming his attendance two hours prior to the scheduled start time. A heavily advertised debate was scheduled for January 21st, 2011. . Shaikh, who has openly defended polygamyPolygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and opposed secular education for Muslims, is a sharp critic of Fatah's moderate views. Fatah later stated that he cancelled his appearance because the moderator was changed shortly before the event was to begin, angering Mr. Fatah, who described the audience as “hostile.” His associates with the Muslim Canadian Congress
Muslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
then requested one of their replacement moderators be called in, angering Farooq Khan, executive director of NAMF, who described MCC members as full of “hyperbole and imaginary fear.” Fatah also claimed that he was warned by police of threats to his safety, though he added he has no proof.
Denunciation of Iranian President
In October 2005, Fatah, in his role as communications director of the Muslim Canadian CongressMuslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
, denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for calling for the destruction of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Fatah stated that "The mullahs who control Iran with an iron grip merely use the pain of the Palestinian occupation for their own advantage in diverting people's attention from other pressing matters. They talk about wiping out Israel, but in reality the only people they have wiped out are fellow Iranians by the tens of thousands. After a reign of terror that killed thousands and drove many more into exile, they have used torture, arbitrary arrest, vigilante justice and murder to silence fellow Muslims in Iran."
Fatah added that Ahmadinejad "insults Islam by usurping it to serve his own narrow political interests" and that "with friends like the Iranian ruling ayatollahs, the Palestinians do not need enemies."
Opposition to Israeli policies
Although Fatah condemned Ahmadinejad for calling for Israel's destruction, he also stated that "we cannot remain silent about Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian territories." While Fatah believes in Israel's right to exist, he has called the Israeli occupation as "illegal" and "immoral". He believes Israel is fueling antisemitism.The Muslim Canadian Congress
Muslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
, which Tarek Fatah founded and led till August 2006, supported the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel as of May 2006. The Congress also compared Israeli policies to South African apartheid.
Opposition to US war in Iraq
Fatah also condemned US President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
"for posturing as a deliverer of freedom while occupying Iraq." Regarding Iraq, Fatah wrote that "both Iran and the U.S. have helped destroy a nation."
Islamic radicalism
In a discussion hosted by the Globe and Mail in 2007, Fatah stated that "most of the Islamic radicalism that you see today stems from the empowering of Saudi based Jihadi groups that were funded and backed by the U.S. and the CIACentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
throughout the Afghan war against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
."
Fatah argues that "Most secular and liberal institutions were destroyed piece by piece and what we are left with is the result of huge amounts of cash and weapons in the hands of the Taliban type, or Al-Qaeda groups that get their intellectual sustenance from the political teachings of the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
founder Hassan Al-Banna
Hassan al-Banna
Sheikh Hasan Ahmed Abdel Rahman Muhammed al-Banna known as Hasan al-Banna was a schoolteacher and imam, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential 20th century Muslim revivalist organizations.-Early life:Banna was born in 1906 in Mahmoudiyah, Egypt...
and the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami
This article is about Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. For other organizations of similar name see Jamaat-e-Islami The Jamaat-e-Islami , is a Pro-Muslim political party in Pakistan...
, Abul ala Maudoodi
Abul Ala Maududi
Syed Abul A'ala Maududi , also known as Molana or Shaikh Syed Abul A'ala Mawdudi, was a Sunni Pakistani journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist leader and political philosopher, and a major 20th century Islamist thinker. He was also a prominent political figure in Pakistan and was the first...
, both of who preached Jehad as an obligation for all Muslims if they saw another Muslim under attack."
He has stated that converts adopting the niqab
Niqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
face covering is indicative of joining "a cult", and offensive to Islam.
Support for the Quran and opposition to Shariah
Fatah stressed that "The poison is not coming from the Quran, but from the man-made shariah laws of the 8th and 9th centuries as well as the works of such 20th century scholars as Syed Qutb, Hassan Banna and Maudoodi" and that "The swamp that needs to be drained is the swamp created by Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and their call for imposition of Shariah."
Statement that Islam does not need to be reformed
Fatah also stated that "it is not Islam that needs to be reformed, it is the need for Muslims to reconcile with modernity and the notion of the secular nation state … Unfortunately, whereas the religious right in Islam is well funded and well organised, the liberal secular Muslim is too busy leading a 9-to-5 life, paying his mortgage and providing for his family and thus has no time or resources to challenge the Islamist extremists."Location of Cordoba House Mosque
Writing with author Raheel RazaRaheel Raza
Raheel Raza is a Muslim Canadian journalist, author, public speaker, media consultant, anti-racism activist, and interfaith discussion leader. She lives in Toronto, Canada. She has been compared to Asra Nomani and Amina Wadud for her controversial views on Islam.She is the author of Their Jihad,...
, a fellow board member of the Muslim Canadian Congress, about the location of the proposed Cordoba House mosque near Ground Zero, he stated:
We Muslims know the ... mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation, to thumb our noses at the infidel. The proposal has been made in bad faith, ... as "Fitna," meaning "mischief-making" that is clearly forbidden in the Koran.... As Muslims we are dismayed that our co-religionists have such little consideration for their fellow citizens, and wish to rub salt in their wounds and pretend they are applying a balm to sooth the pain.
Position on homosexuality
Fatah stated that "The issue that has resulted in all the threats and allegations against us is our support for same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. It's the central point on which the Muslim Canadian Congress
Muslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
and I have faced outright hostility, verging on violence. There is near unanimity in any religious group that this is the ultimate sin and, for them, this amounts to the ultimate betrayal." Regarding Islam and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, Fatah stated that "Our human rights cannot revolve around religion. It's not about our rights, it's about human rights."
Fatah also criticized the support of some gay and lesbian Muslims for Hezbollah, "There's the sudden romanticization of Hezbollah. But I cannot walk with, cannot even build a coalition with, a group which thinks gays and lesbians should be killed… I haven't ever heard them condemn what's happening in Iran and Saudi Arabia. I would like to see a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy by the gay and lesbian community."
Criticism of Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC)
In April 2008, the Ontario Human Rights CommissionOntario Human Rights Commission
The Ontario Human Rights Commission was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961 to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code...
(OHRC) dismissed a complaint about allegedly Islamophobic articles in Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
magazine. However, the commission denounced the newsweekly for publishing articles that were "inconsistent with the spirit" of the Ontario Human Rights Code, and doing "serious harm" to Canadian society by "promoting societal intolerance" and disseminating "destructive, xenophobic opinions."
Fatah stated that for the Commission "to refer to Maclean's magazine and journalists as contributing to racism is bullshit, if you can use that word" and that the Commission has unfairly taken sides against freedom of speech in a dispute within the Canadian Muslim community between moderates and fundamentalists. "There are within the staff [of the Ontario Human Rights Commission], and among the commissioners, hardline Islamic supporters of Islamic extremism, and this [handling of the Maclean's case] reflects their presence over there" and that "In the eyes of the Ontario human rights commission, the only good Muslim is an Islamist Muslim. As long as we hate Canada, we will be cared for. As soon as we say Canada is our home and we have to defend her traditions, freedoms and secular democracy, we will be considered as the outside."
In a press conference on October 2, 2008, Fatah stated that the OHRC has been "infiltrated by Islamists" and that some of its commissioners are closely linked to the Canadian Islamic Congress
Canadian Islamic Congress
The Canadian Islamic Congress refers to itself as Canada's largest national non-profit and wholly independent Islamic organization without affiliation to any foreign group, body, or government and says it represents -- Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, men and women, youth and seniors...
and the Canadian Arab Federation
Canadian Arab Federation
The Canadian Arab Federation was formed in 1967 to represent the interests of Arab Canadians with respect to the formulation of public policy in Canada. It presently consists of over 40 member organizations....
, both of which, according to Fatah, have "contempt for Canadian values."
Mohamed Elmasry
Regarding a controversy in October 2004 involving CIC President Mohamed Elmasry, in which Elmasry stated that all Israelis over 18 are legitimate targets, Fatah stated that "…to believe all Israelis are targets is the height of hypocrisy" and called on Elmasry to resign from the CIC.Fatah also stated that: "In refusing to step aside, Elmasry and the CIC have demonstrated the authoritarian and dictatorial nature of their structure.…They purport to speak for Canada's 600,000 Muslims, but are not accountable or answerable to them.…We demand he [Elmasry] not…masquerade as leader of the community."
Fatah wrote that "Elmasry accused his Muslim opponents of being traitors to their faith—an allegation that is read as a charge of apostasy, with all its ugly consequences" and that "It is especially sad that Mohamed Elmasry and his allies have chosen the holy month of Ramadan to launch their broadside on progressive Muslims."
In June 2006, Elmasry named four public figures – Fatah among them – of taking every opportunity to bad-mouth Islam. Specifically, Elmasry stated that Fatah is "well known in Canada for smearing Islam and bashing Muslims." Fatah blasted Elmasry, stating that "[t]his is a classic threat to label anyone as an apostate and then marginalize them," … "and this is what Mr. Elmasry has done by listing me as the top anti-Islam Muslim." Fatah stated that he views the label from Elmasry as tantamount to a death sentence. However, some Islamic scholars disagreed with Fatah's characterization of Elmasry's comments. Leonard Librande, professor of religion at Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
, told CTV News "There's nothing particularly Islamic in this… There are differences of opinion frequently in the community. It doesn't mean somebody is going to kill you."
However, Fatah has argued that "in the Muslim world … allegations of apostasy are used to silence critics and human rights workers" and that "Some interpretations of Sharia call for apostates to be killed. Such views have forced many Muslims to flee their countries of birth and take refuge in tolerant Western nations such as Canada. To now find ourselves harassed in Canada by some Muslims here is alarming and ironic."
Fatah supported his concern by noting that a book, distributed for free at a Toronto Conference in September 2005 by the Islamic Council of North America, stated that "Jihad is as much a primary duty as are daily prayers or fasting. One who avoids it is a sinner. His every claim to being a Muslim is doubtful. He is plainly a hypocrite who fails in the test of sincerity and all his acts of worship are a sham, a worthless, hollow show of deception."
Wahida Valiante
Wahida C. ValianteWahida C. Valiante
Wahida Valiante is currently the National President and founding member of the Canadian Islamic Congress and the Chair of . She is a Canadian trained social worker and therapist who specializes in couple and family therapy, family mediation, domestic violence, and post traumatic stress...
, President of the Canadian Islamic Congress, told the Globe and Mail that "Tarek Fatah's views are diametrically opposed to most Muslims. There is a tremendous amount of discussion in the community. His point of view contradicts the fundamentals of Islam." Fatah has written to the RCMP to complain about the CIC's article claiming that it "is as close as one can get to issuing a death threat as it places me as an apostate and blasphemer."
Canadian Arab Federation (CAF)
In February 2009, Fatah sharply criticized the Canadian Arab FederationCanadian Arab Federation
The Canadian Arab Federation was formed in 1967 to represent the interests of Arab Canadians with respect to the formulation of public policy in Canada. It presently consists of over 40 member organizations....
(CAF) in an article published in the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
. Fatah, who received the CAF's highest award in December 2001, stated that the CAF's current leadership has turned the organization "into a mouthpiece for Hamas and Hezbollah in Canada." Fatah stated that the CAF used to sponsor debates on the pros and cons of the Oslo peace accord but today labels "any backer of the two-state solution [as] a traitor to the Muslim cause."
Fatah opened by sharply criticizing CAF President Khaled Mouammar for calling Immigration Minister Jason Kenney
Jason Kenney
Jason T. Kenney, PC, MP is Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997....
a "professional whore" because Mr. Kenney criticized the display of Hamas and Hezbollah flags at a CAF-backed protest rally. Fatah also claimed that the CAF also referred to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
by the same label. Fatah also criticized Mouammar for sending out an email during 2006 Liberal party leadership campaign which stated that "[Bob] Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's wife is a vice-president of the CJC Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
, a lobby group which supports Israeli apartheid." Fatah also stated that Mouammar sent Muslim delegates a flyer that stated: "Bob Rae supports Israeli apartheid. Don't elect a leader who supports apartheid."
Fatah stated that CAF's vice-president in Ontario, Ali Mallah, referred to the Muslim Canadian Congress
Muslim Canadian Congress
The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
in an online forum as "house negros
House Negro
House Negro is a pejorative term for a black person, used to compare someone to a house slave of a slave owner from the historic period of legal slavery in the US...
(sic)." He also claimed that Mallah sent out an e-mail message that was headlined: "Dion, Rae & Cotler: pro-Apartheid & anti-Human Rights." Fatah claimed the message also contained the following remarks:
Liberal Leader Stéphane DionStéphane DionStéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
's handpicked human rights critic, Irwin CotlerIrwin CotlerIrwin Cotler, PC, OC, MP was Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul Martin lost power following the 2006 federal election. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Mount Royal in a by-election...
, advises Israeli military officials on war planning, on how to spin the media following Israeli war crimes and on how to oppose Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; 2 Dion's handpicked critic for foreign affairs and co-writer of the Liberal party platform, the unelected Bob RaeBob RaeRobert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
is a committee member of the Racist Jewish National FundJewish National FundThe Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
. As Israel's leading newspaper Ha'aretz reports: "it's well known that the 'national institutions'—the Jewish Agency and Jewish National Fund—primarily exist to enable institutional discrimination based on ethnicity.
Fatah also claimed that Mallah attacked him personally, claiming that he has "no shred of decency of integrity left" and claiming that he served "Zionist masters."
Fatah concluded by stating that Canada's Arab community should demand that Khaled Mouammar and Ali Mallah step down and "not bring further shame to their community." He then called for a new leadership in the tradition of former leaders John Asfour Jim Kafieh, Jehad Aliweiwi and Raja Khouri.."
Response
In response to Fatah's article, CAF Vice-President Ali Mallah emailed a response to a large group of recipients. The National PostNational Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
later posted it in its original form. In the message Mallah wrote that:
Tarek Fatah has earned the perfect description by Late Malcom X and prove to be a very loyal "house Negro". In this desperate attempt to malign CAF on the pages of Zionist mouth piece National Post, he is saying one thing correct: Yes, CAF awarded him that award, but that was when Tarek Fatah was cheating his way through and pretending to be pro-palestine, pro-social justice, pro-multiculturalis m and Anti-Liberal Party…etc (I am sure that every one knows this sell out, is fully aware of the shameless transformation of this sorry case of human being). I admit that I was duped by his fake lies and nominated him for that award. Now, since he is totally exposed and has no cloth left, He should return that Award as he does not deserve the honour associated with it.
Threats
Fatah says he has been attacked for his views, verbally at an Islamic conference in 2003 where dozens of young Muslim men mobbed him while a cleric shouted out that he had insulted the Prophet MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's name and in 2006 when he was accosted on Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
by a man who accused him of being an apostate. His car windows have also been smashed. On August 4, 2006, Fatah announced his resignation as the MCC's communications director because of concerns for his safety and the safety of his family, stating that "it's not just for me. It's for my wife and my daughters."
In early 2011, Fatah received a threat via Twitter from a sender signed herself as Mariama AnnaLitical, who included a picture of herself wearing a purple hijab, stating that "This is an open threat to Xaar Boy @Tarek Fatah...I know where you live & and where your office is.” She later sent a second Twitter message, reiterating that "This is an open threat. I know where you live/work @TarekFatah.” Fatah contacted the Toronto Police Department and later met with two uniformed policemen from 51 Division. However, Fatah stated that barely one minute later, that "Two men entered the room and told everybody else to leave. They did not identify themselves, but five minutes into what amounted to a two-hour interrogation, I realized they were police intelligence officers. One of them, I recognized by reputation – a Muslim officer who had shut down a previous investigation into a death threat against me in 2008." After the intelligence officers left, Fatah stated that "the original officers confided to me that it was unusual for “intel” to act before a report had even been filed. I realized this was now about politics, and nothing would be done to help me. Later that night, the same Muslim officer called me to say AnnaLitical posed no danger. “She didn’t mean to say it,” the officer said. I asked if any charges were laid. “No,” he said. “I didn’t think it was necessary.”"
Fatah sharply criticized the Toronto Police over this incident, stating that:
"The Toronto police, in their wish to promote an image of diversity and outreach, have dedicated themselves to serving and protecting the radical Islamist elements within our city. Meanwhile, Muslims like myself, who do their best to promote the equality and respect that the police claim to cherish, are left without legal protection when radicals explicitly and publicly threaten us with violence. In Toronto, anybody can issue an “open threat” against a man laying helpless in a hospital bed and be assured they will not face charges, so long as the person making the threat is a black Muslim woman wearing a hijab."
On October 9th, 2011 Tarek Fatah reported on his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page that he had received threats from a Kahane Chai member warning him that if he does not within "48 hours" make his Facebook status: "I accept Israel as a Jewish state", or else his party would be over. On his weekly talk show with Newstalk 1010 he brushed off the threat and hosted Zach Paikin who provided in-depth analysis into radical Jewish groups in Canada, such as the Jewish Defence League and Kahane Chai.
Authorship
Fatah is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, published in 2008. In the book Fatah challenges the notion that the establishment of an Islamic state is a necessary prerequisite to entering the state of Islam. He suggests that the idea of an Islamic state is merely a mirage that Muslims have been made to chase for over a millennium.The Toronto Star introduced the book to its readers as "A cri de coeur… succinctly yet with power." In a review of a chapter in the book titled, "The Prophet is Dead," the Toronto Star said, "Fatah had broached the mother of all taboos."
Emran Qureshi wrote a critique of the book in the Globe and Mail. The book was praised by the Mackenzie Institute, which stated that it is "is a direct challenge to the fanatics of the Wahhabi, Deobandi, and Khomeinist traditions. His exposition is solidly rooted in the oldest texts and histories of Islam and argues that the pursuit of an imperial Islamic state has soiled the religion, and violates the intentions of Mohammed himself."
In February, 2011, Fatah was scheduled to have a debate with Imam Sheheryar Shaikh of the North American Muslim Foundation (NAMF). Amidst much controversy, Fatah did not show up for the debate event and left many of his supporters disappointed.
On March 31, 2009, the Donner Foundation announced "Chasing a Mirage" had been shortlisted for their $35,000 prize awarded to non-fiction texts covering public policy.
External links
- Transcript of Fatah being interviewed by CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Glenn BeckGlenn BeckGlenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks... - The Macleans.ca Interview: Tarek Fatah, Kate Lunau, Macleans, November 29, 2007
- Special feature interview with Tarek Fatah - November 4, 2010