Reply #9: A more enlightened view from the Toronto Star: [View All]

[Minstrel Boy]

There is room in Canada for religious arbitration and secular law, says Raheel Raza


Within 24 hours of the report being released, I've heard a slew of uninformed and biased ideas ranging from calling anyone in favour of religious arbitration a fundamentalist, to labelling Marion Boyd a white racist. The groups opposing the establishment of a Muslim tribunal have effectively fanned the flames of Islamophobia.

Since the hot debate on the establishment of a Muslim Arbitration Tribunal started almost a year ago, I've been concerned about where this is taking us.

Everywhere I've been invited to speak on Islam, concern has been expressed about Canada supporting a Taliban-like regime. The fact of the matter is that Ismaili Muslims have been successfully using arbitration and mediation for some time, just like our counterparts in the Jewish and Catholic communities.

The public doesn't focus on the fact that this is not about sharia but about religious freedom.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1103628501920&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795