Islamophobia Now Defines our Official Policy. How Did we Let This Happen?

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

"If international Jewry should succeed, in Europe or else­where, in precipitating nations into a world war, the result will not be the bolshevization of Europe and a victory of Judaism, but the extermination of the Jewish race." Adolf Hitler, January 3, 1939

Those words are shocking to us now, with the value of hindsight. But why weren't they shocking to German citizens who listened to that speech in 1939? Their leader was promoting the possible "necessity" of eliminating an entire people. Millions and millions of human beings.

It was because his party was suggesting that their planned military campaigns were an act of defense, not aggression. A necessary defense against both socialism and Judaism.

Fast forward to January of 2006, when senior Canadian military officers, soldiers, defence analysts and lobbyists gathered together to listen to American Lt.-Gen. Thomas Metz, then commanding general of Fort Hood, Texas.

[Metz] presents the audience with "a quick trip around the world." Using slides, he flashes a series of maps that highlight, one at a time, India, China, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Then he comes to his final map, the one that really matters. Unlike all the others, this isn't just a map of a geographic area. It's a map of a religion: the Islamic World.

The Islamic faith is not evil," says the general, then quickly adds. "but it's been hijacked by thugs ... He then shows a chart depicting the military challenges America faces, measured in terms of level of danger and level of likelihood. At the very apex—the most dangerous and the most likely—sits just one: radical Islamic terrorism. "Radical Islam wants to reestablish the Caliphate," says Metz. "Just as Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, you can read what they want to do." (1)

But if you wonder why the invited guests included corporate lobbyists, Metz continues.

In his southern drawl, the general notes how much oil the U.S. consumes—roughly 25 per cent of the world's consumption, even though Americans make up only 5 per cent of the world's population—and how central this is to the country's high standard of living. To dramatize the importance of energy, the general points out that one can put a pint of gasoline into a chainsaw and then go out and cut a huge amount of wood before the gasoline runs out. The next day, he says, one could feed a big, strong man an enormous breakfast and send him out to cut wood—and he'd be able to cut only a fraction of what the gasoline-fired chainsaw had been able to cut in far less time. The lesson from this little fable is clear: America needs oil to go on being the rich, advanced society that it enjoys being. Without oil, Americans would be like that big strong man with the big breakfast—with only a tiny pile of wood to show for it.

The general's little discourse on the importance of energy to America is certainly interesting. But what is it doing in a speech about military threats to the United States? The connection between America's voracious oil consumption and the dangers of radical Islamic terrorism are never explicitly stated by Lt.-Gen. Metz; he simply notes that the Islamic world has a lot of oil and what happens there has an impact on energy markets. But an important element has clearly been added to the picture: the U.S. needs what lies under the ground in the Islamic world if Americans are to go on living the bounteous life that lies at the heart of the American dream—a life that has them devouring the lion's share of the world's energy. (1)

So the threat is not Radical Islam so much as the threat that the people of the Islamic world would like to control their own natural resources.

The lobbyists in the room were salivating. Not only would they continue to cash in on huge military contracts, but in the end would control the mineral wealth of the Middle East.

But how could they sell this to the Canadian people, who were already weary of the war in Afghanistan, and wanted to bring our soldiers home?

They wrapped it up in a yellow ribbon, sprinkled it with a dose of religious fervour and instilled fear that we are threatened with attack. "They hate our freedoms" says Stephen Harper. They hate Christians and they hate God. They couldn't possibly hate the fact that they were invaded and forced into a war they didn't want, under the guise of "fighting terror" and chasing ghosts.

What Will Precipitate the Next Holocaust?

Canada has long been a nation that promoted peace. We never waged war and when we entered war, it was deemed to be a matter of principle. But that has changed. Canadians may still consider themselves to be peace loving, but our government no longer reflects that image.

We are not peacekeepers, we are warriors. Rick Hillier stated that "We are not the public service of Canada. We are not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces and our job is to be able to kill people." And said of the perceived enemy "These are detestable murderers and scumbags." (2)

Why were we not shocked by that?

For the same reason that the German people were not shocked when Hitler promoted "the extermination of the Jewish race." We were led to believe that they threatened our way of life. He wouldn't dare suggest that it was a depletion of oil that threatened us, so we must take it by force, as Metz did. The job of armed forces was to kill people. But not to worry because the only people they killed were "murderers and scumbags." Our magical weapons that were coated with fairy dust, knew the difference.

And for anyone who doesn't believe that this new target of hatred, Islam, could ever result in another Holocaust, guess again. And I'm not talking about the thousands and thousands of Muslims killed in the Middle East already, but those who promote the annihilation of a people, wrapped up in their "love of Israel". Israel with nuclear weapons, that is positioned to use them, with the full support of Canada.

Our new foreign policy is to not only allow, but encourage Israel to launch a nuclear war. A Holocaust.

And the two people promoting this the most, are from the extremist group: Christians United For Israel. John Hagee and his Canadian partner Charles McVety. Two very dangerous men. (You can hear them speak in the videos that follow.)

It is Charles McVety who put a stop to to the Imam speaking to our military, calling it a threat to national security".

Defence Minister Peter MacKay has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, which is worrisome for someone who oversees the Canadian Armed Forces. By cancelling an invitation to Imam Zijad Delic of the Canadian Islamic Congress to speak at a defence department conference, MacKay has sent a signal of intolerance to the country’s growing Muslim community, estimated to number 1 million people. That’s precisely the opposite of what organizers of the forum had intended.

MacKay’s last-minute order to disinvite Delic, the CIC’s executive director, came as Christian evangelical groups were campaigning against the presence of the Muslim cleric. MacKay insists he made the decision on his own, but his motives remain murky. (3)

Mackay has marginalized an entire segment of our population, based on the rantings of Christian extremists. What next will the Harper government agree to? Internment camps? Will they have to wear crescents? Abide by curfews? How far will this government take this to appease the religious right to avoid breaking the ties of their purse strings?

According to news reports, MacKay was going on information provided by two Christian evangelical groups. These groups must have placed considerable pressure on the minister, because he cancelled Imam Delic's speech hastily, and apparently without consultation with other government agencies.

Had the minister consulted other agencies, he would have discovered that Imam Delic presents to numerous federal departments, including RCMP national security agents. He is well-liked and well-respected among officials, as well as the Muslim community. He is highly regarded by numerous faith groups for his outreach work.

Last Sunday, I sat next to Imam Delic at a youth conference where we were both invited to speak. He has been heavily involved with the event for the last few years, and encouraged me to come out to at least one of the events. As he presented his talk, it was clear that this man, who came from war-torn Bosnia as a refugee, had proudly made Canada, a place of safety, his home. He stood smiling, and preached about how important it was to be an engaged citizen, and a progressive one.

When MacKay allowed himself to be led by pressure groups, he not only shattered the delusions we all had that day when we listened to Imam Delic speak to youth about how Canada is a free country that allows us to express ourselves, he also shattered any hopes we had in our political process. (4)

We know that Stephen Harper will do anything to stay in power. Anything. And he and his government are using the same tactics that the Nazis used to prepare a nation for an unspeakable solution.

And they do it by calling anyone who criticises Israeli aggression, anti-Semitic.

They do it by comparing a peaceful demonstration against Israeli Apartheid, to a pogrom.

They do it by hand picking Alykhan Velshi to act as Jason Kenney's aide. Velshi was the Manager of Research for a group called the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. According to Sourcewatch:

In early 2001, a tightly knit group of billionaire philanthropists conceived of a plan to win American sympathy for Israel's response to the Palestinian intifada. They believed that the Palestinian cause was finding too much support within crucial segments of the American public, particularly within the media and on college campuses, so they set up an organization, Emet: An Educational Initiative, Inc., to offer Israel the kind of PR that the Israeli government seemed unable to provide itself.

They do it by sending out vile taxpayer funded literature calling opposition parties anti-Semitic.

This creates an atmosphere of fear, where the only thing we're afraid of is crossing our government.

The Globe and Mail with it's new neoconservative format is suggesting that Canadians should forget about being defined as Peacekeepers. We must instead take pride in our military might. Forget health care. Shift our adoration to fighter jets.

Forget responsible government. Stick with Harper and his vision for Canada. A nation that we no longer recognize.

Oh, but just look at the shiny pictures!






Sources:

1. Holding the Bully's Coat, Canada and the U.S. Empire, By Linda McQuaig, Doubleday Canada, 2007, ISBN 978-0-385-66012-9, pg. 67-69

2. Rick Hillier reconnected Canadians with Forces, By John Ward, The Canadian Press, June 29, 2008

3. MacKay’s speech ban: Message of intolerance, Toronto Star, October 6, 2010

4. Politicians on the run: By hastily cancelling a speech by Imam Zijad Delic, Peter MacKay has shattered the faith of Muslims in our political process, By Aisha Sherazi, Citizen Special, October 5, 2010