Douglas Todd: Defending the right to offend

2015/01/20 Leave a comment

Douglas Todd’s reflections on Charlie Hebdo and the ensuring debates over freedom of speech and religion:

The process of secularization is now thoroughly ensconced in the West; in effect, it declares there is no consensus over what is sacred.

As philosophers such as Canada’s Charles Taylor have pointed out, secularization has elevated the value of doubt so that it’s at least equal to values about what is sacred.

Taylor believes secularism is imperfect, but that it’s a cultural advance.

Not all religious leaders agree.

Even the most staunch defenders of Canadian multiculturalism, such as scholar Will Kymlicka, recognize that’s a problem.

Kymlicka admits religion provides the toughest test of multiculturalism. Canadians, Kymlicka says, have become accustomed to tolerating, and even welcoming, people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

But religion is not about skin colour; it’s about belief systems. And belief systems make decisions about what is of ultimate value, which can sometimes form into rigid ideology.

That can lead to beliefs that some things are absolutely taboo, such as visual images of Muhammad.

Taking the secularization argument further, some religion scholars say the modern emphasis on doubt, paradoxically, creates healthier religions.

That’s because secularization, at its best, respects the past, but is willing to question it.

In that way, the Protestant Reformation and Enlightenment were secularizing movements.

Some go so far to say Jesus and Buddha were secularizers: Reformers who upset the religious status quo, sometimes joking about it.

I’ve never heard anyone maintain Muhammad was a secularizer, but the case could be made, since he was also a reformer, who challenged the degrading tribal customs of seventh-century Arabia.

One Charlie Hebdo cartoon that appeared in recent years featured Muhammad crying, lamenting how he had come to be loved by violent and “idiotic” fundamentalists.

I have no need to publicly mock someone’s religious (or atheistic) beliefs. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be accused of it: Some people are extremely easy to offend.

Do we walk on eggshells around such people, religious and otherwise, who believe they have a kind of sacred right to be hyper-sensitive? Or do we engage in honest exchange to defend the values of a democratic society?

Even though I dislike some of the cruder forms of satire, I dearly hope the genre has a robust future.

Douglas Todd: Defending the right to offend.

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Juan Cole: President Hollande: Anti-Muslimism Is as Bad as Anti-Semitism

2015/01/20 Leave a comment

Worth reading, and an apparent ‘course correction’ nuancing the ‘war’ language :

French President Francois Hollande addressed the Institute of the Arab World on Friday, in a bid to reassure French Muslims, who fear being the victims of a collective guilt campaign or reprisals after the attack of radicals on Charlie Hebdo.

Hollande said:

“It is the Muslims who are the first victims of fanaticism, fundamentalism and intolerance…

We must remember that . . . Islam is compatible with democracy, and that we must reject lumping everyone together or mixing them up with one another, and must have in France French of Muslim faith who have the same rights and the same duties as all citizens.

They must be protected.  Secularism helps in this regard since it respects all religions… Anti-Muslim actions, like Antisemitism, must be denounced and severely punished…

France was formed by movements of population and the flux of immigration.  It is constituted by the diversity of what is in France.  A number of my compatriots have attachments in the Arab world, coming from North Africa or the Near East.  They might be Jews, Muslims, Christians, they might be believers or no.  But they have a link to the Arab world and they have contributed, generation after generation, to the history of France.”

In contrast to the racist discourse of the National Front, which paints Muslims as alien and dangerous and non-Muslim French as monochrome, Hollande adopted an almost American diction of celebration of immigrant communities.

He made the argument that it isn’t importing religion into government (as many states in the Middle East unfortunately do) that guarantees minority rights but rather secular government, which tolerates all religions equally.  He is being a little idealistic about actual French secularism as it is enshrined in law and practice, but the general principle is correct.  Secular government can neutralize religious competition for the state of the sort we have seen in post-Bush Iraq, with all its disasters.

Hollande surely made waves when he put anti-Muslimism on exactly the same level as Antisemitism, and pledged to be as vigorous in combating the one as the other.  I haven’t heard any other Western leader go so far as to equate these two.

Otherwise, his acceptance of the Muslim French as full French citizens is extremely important in the hothouse atmosphere of European politics today, where many right-wing parties determinedly “other” the European Muslims.

Juan Cole: President Hollande: Anti-Muslimism Is as Bad as Anti-Semitism – Juan Cole – Truthdig.

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Government of Canada proud to support Holodomor National Awareness Tour – Canada News Centre

2015/01/20 Leave a comment

Likely one of the larger grants under the program which has an annual funding envelope of about $8 million:

The Holodomor, otherwise known as the “terror-famine in Ukraine,” resulted in the deaths of millions of people in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1932-1933. The famine was the direct result of a planned repression of the people of Ukraine for massively resisting the Stalinist state’s collectivization.

Canada became the first country to officially recognize the Holodomor genocide in 2008.

The Canada Ukraine Foundation will receive an investment of $1,459,728 from Citizenship and Immigration Canada for the cross-Canada tour. The project will educate Canadians of all ages and backgrounds on this tragic historical event and highlight the importance of our shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The Tour, which is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2015, has also garnered support from organizations such as the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium.

Government of Canada proud to support Holodomor National Awareness Tour – Canada News Centre.

As noted earlier, compares to $50,000 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag (Feds to spend $50,000 for flag’s 50th birthday celebration). Perhaps an effort to smooth over some of the Ukrainian Canadian community criticisms over the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (Canadian Museum for Human Rights – More Dissent).

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Sex differences in academia: University challenge | The Economist

2015/01/20 1 Comment

Interesting analysis of the some of the unconscious beliefs and habits that may undermine efforts to increase diversity within STEM disciplines:

All this raises interesting and awkward questions. It may be unpalatable to some, but the idea that males and females have evolved cognitive differences over the course of many millions of years, because of the different interests of the sexes, is plausible. That people of different races have evolved such differences is far less likely, given the youth of Homo sapiens as a species. Prejudice thus seems a more plausible explanation for what Dr Leslie and Dr Cimpian have observed. But prejudice can work in subtle ways.

It could indeed be that recruiters from disciplines which think innate talent important are prejudiced about who they select for their PhD programmes. It could instead, though, be that women and black people themselves, through exposure to a culture that constantly tells them (which research suggests it does) that they do not have an aptitude for things like maths and physics, have come to believe this is true.

If that is the case (and Dr Leslie and Dr Cimpian suspect it is), it suggests that a cultural shift in schools and universities, playing down talent and emphasising hard work, might serve to broaden the intake of currently male-dominated and black-deficient fields, to the benefit of all.

Sex differences in academia: University challenge | The Economist.

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Toronto Police team with other forces to help Somali community

2015/01/19 Leave a comment

Some good community policing initiatives here in addition to the exchange program with Minneapolis:

Toronto Police spent roughly $500,000 to employ six officers of Somali background in 23 Division as part of a Somali Liaison Unit, a renewable two-year project as a way to build trust in the predominantly Somali community and to engage youth, Deputy Chief Peter Sloly said at a policing conference at Woodbine Banquet Hall Saturday.

“The connections between Toronto, Minneapolis, Edmonton and Ft. McMurray … it’s a large issue that involves senior police leaders,” Sloly said. “We’re applying that neighbourhood approach. We’ve employed those police officers on Dixon Rd., right around Woodbine Racetrack, they’re in there for two years and develop trusting long-lasting relationships and a deep knowledge of community conditions.”

Toronto’s Somali liaison unit has been in place since 2013 and will likely be renewed at the end of this year, Sloly said.

“We did a high-risk project in spring of 2013 (Project Traveller) and the three years before then, we had over 20 shooting incidents every year and 10 homicides every year and the two years since we’ve had this unit in place, we’ve only had one shooting and no homicides,” he said. “That’s because of great local leadership.”

Toronto Police are also working with Positive Change Toronto, an advocacy group that formed to bring down gun violence in North Etobicoke, particularly in the Dixon Rd. and Queen’s Plate Dr. areas.

“When we formed in 2012, that was the summer of the gun,” explained PCT spokesman Idil Burale. “There were way too many funerals. Something had to change. In the past two years, we’ve seen people call these police officers directly, rather than call the police. They were coming forward with information more. A lot of young men in our community are interested in becoming police officers.”

Toronto Police team with other forces to help Somali community | Home | Toronto.

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Quebec Values Charter 2.0: Ban against crosses, hijabs would only apply to new public employees | National Post

2015/01/19 Leave a comment

English coverage of Bernard Drainville’s attempt to resuscitate the values charter (earlier post Charte de la laïcité: «une clause grand-père» prévaudra |Drainville) and a useful comparison between the earlier and current versions:

Comparison of Drainville’s charter proposals

PQ’s original charter

• The ban on ostentatious religious symbols in the workspace was sweeping and applied to the entire public sector including justice, health and education. The bill defined the symbols as “overt and conspicuous,” which meant a tiny crucifix or small ring with the Star of David or earring was fine, but anything big was not.

• The bill provided for a five-year exemption from the ban for CEGEPs, universities, health care and municipalities. In the uproar, many institutions said they would use the exemption.

• Private schools and non-subsidized daycare centres were not covered.

• It would be mandatory to have one’s face uncovered while providing or receiving a state service.

• In the name of religious heritage, the giant crucifix on Mont Royal and other religious symbols in the public space — such as the crucifix over

the speaker’s chair in the blue room of the National Assembly — would remain. Employees would still be allowed office Christmas trees.

• Amend the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms to entrench religious neutrality of the state and the secular nature of institutions.

Drainville charter

• The big change in the proposal is the so-called grandfather clause. That means that while the plan is still to ban conspicuous religious symbols in the whole public sector, existing workers would have acquired rights and not have to respect the rules.

• Implicit in the new package is that no employee thus could be fired for refusing to comply, which emerged as the real stumbling block for the short-lived PQ government.

• The new ban would thus only apply to new hires. As Drainville stated, working for the government carries with it responsibilities and one of them is to not express, or display, one’s personal convictions.

• Respecting their independence, Drainville said the new ban would not apply to CEGEPs, universities and municipalities. They would, however, be required to adopt their own internal religious neutrality policies.

• Added to the charter would be the creation of an observatory on religious fundamentalism and a 1-800 phone line where people could report honour crimes.

• The National Assembly crucifix could be moved elsewhere in the legislature if MNAs vote to do so.

Quebec Values Charter 2.0: Ban against crosses, hijabs would only apply to new public employees | National Post.

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Couples in limbo demand audit of spousal sponsorship program

2015/01/19 1 Comment

More processing delays at CIC, likely caused by more rigorous anti-fraud measures and the management issues related to shifting processing from one centre (Vegreville) to another (Mississauga):

Canadians caught up in Ottawa’s backlog in processing in-country spousal sponsorships are calling for an audit of the troubled program.

Processing times have tripled recently. Thousands of Canadians are now having to wait more than two years to acquire permanent resident status for their foreign spouses already living in Canada. That means living in limbo for the foreign partner, including not being allowed to take a job or access health care coverage.

A national online group called Canada Inland Spousal Sponsorship Petitioners says Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) must immediately establish “service delivery standards,” as recommended by the Office of the Auditor General in a scathing report in 2010.

“As a Canadian who has lived, worked and paid taxes here for 25 years, I just feel like a second-rate citizen,” said Malcolm White of Oshawa, who married wife Anne in 2011. The Birmingham, England, resident joined him here two years later and filed an application for permanent resident status in December 2013.

“There is no transparency or accountability with the system. Canadians’ spouses should have the first priority to live in this country,” White said.

Canadians have the option to sponsor a foreign wife or husband either from abroad or within Canada; many prefer to do it here, so they don’t have to be apart during the processing.

A spousal sponsorship is a two-stage process: the sponsor has to be assessed and approved before the foreign spouse can be screened for medical clearance, background checks and other verification.

Currently, inland applicants must wait 17 months — up from six months in 2013 — for stage one, and eight months longer for stage two.

And, not unexpectedly, some of the examples of couples caught up in these delays, do not fit the profile of marriages of convenience that the anti-fraud measures were intended to counter.

Couples in limbo demand audit of spousal sponsorship program | Toronto Star.

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Chérif and Saïd Kouachi’s Path to Paris Attack at Charlie Hebdo – NYTimes.com

2015/01/19 Leave a comment

A good in-depth piece on the radicalization journey of the Paris killers and the challenge for police forces, suggesting that it may be more a matter of resources than expanded powers:

The 10-year evolution from easily spooked amateur to hardened killer is a story of steadily deepening radicalism that occurred virtually under the noses of French authorities, who twice had Chérif in their grasp. After the arrest of Chérif in 2005, when he was no more than a fledgling jihadist, he spent 20 months in prison. There, he met and became an acolyte of Al Qaeda’s top operative in France, Djamel Beghal, who had been dispatched to Paris to set up a cell aimed at attacking United States interests here, French counterterrorism officials said.

He also befriended a convicted robber, Amedy Coulibaly, who would later synchronize his own terrorist attack with the Kouachi brothers, killing a police officer and staging a siege inside a kosher supermarket in the days after the Charlie Hebdo carnage, bringing the death toll to 17.

Much remains unclear about their lives. But thousands of pages of legal documents obtained by The New York Times, including minutes of interrogations, summaries of phone taps, intercepted jailhouse letters and a catalog of images and religious texts found on the laptops of Chérif Kouachi and Mr. Coulibaly, reveal an arc of radicalization that saw them become steadily more professional and more discreet.

They shaved regularly, eschewing the conspicuous beards worn by many Islamists. They dressed in jeans and basketball sneakers, offering no outward hint of their plans or jihadist beliefs.

After at least one of the Kouachis traveled to Yemen in 2011, the United States alerted French authorities. But three years of tailing the brothers yielded nothing, and an oversight commission ruled that the surveillance was no longer productive, said Louis Caprioli, the deputy head of France’s domestic antiterrorism unit from 1998 to 2004.

The brothers appeared so nonthreatening that surveillance was dropped in the middle of last year, he said, as hundreds of young Muslims cycled back and forth to Syria for jihad and French authorities shifted priorities.

“The system is overwhelmed,” said Jean-Charles Brisard, a terrorism expert who is a former counsel to France’s chief antiterrorism prosecutor.

Chérif and Saïd Kouachi’s Path to Paris Attack at Charlie Hebdo – NYTimes.com.

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It’s time to confront ‘the cancer of extremism’ – Khan and Dueck

2015/01/19 Leave a comment

Good conversation between Sheema Khan and Lorna Dueck on extremism. Quote below from Sheema Khan:

In conclusion, we should start to look to ways of breaking the vicious cycle anytime a terrorist incident occurs. There is shock, anger, followed by condemnation of these acts, and then the backlash against Muslim communities, thus further creating divisions, which in turn alienate Muslim youth who become susceptible to the message of extremists (i.e. the West is at war with Islam, they reject you because you are Muslim, etc).

For Muslim communities, we really have to start looking in the mirror, and ask in view of atrocities occurring in the name of Islam at a higher frequency, “what is happening to the moral core”? During the days of terror in France, almost 2,000 women, children and the elderly were massacred by Boko Haram, which has also resorted to child suicide bombers. Almost 40 Muslims were killed in Yemen by a Muslim extremist. And the killing of Muslims, by Muslim extremists continues in Syria and Iraq. All of this on the heels of the horrific murders of schoolchildren and teachers in Peshawar by the Taliban. We need to take a deep look and acknowledge that the cancer of extremism is growing, and come up with strategies on how to deal with it.

It’s time to confront ‘the cancer of extremism’ – The Globe and Mail.

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Feds to spend $50,000 for flag’s 50th birthday celebration

2015/01/17 1 Comment

The historic scars of the debate over the Canadian flag still haunt the Conservatives, apparently (under Minister Kenney, the historic flags of Canada were often displayed along with the current flag).

And in contrast to the $1.5 million to commemorate the Holodomor, displaying yet again the political clout of the Ukrainian Canadian community:

The federal government has allotted $50,000 for celebrations for the upcoming 50th birthday of the iconic Maple Leaf flag.

As Maple Leaf approaches 50, some wonder: Where’s the party?

That’s compared to almost $4 million for a campaign marking the 200th anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald’s birth, and $5.2 million spent on the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

Canadian Heritage said Thursday that the $50,000 includes funds for promotional material, a photo exhibit during Ottawa’s upcoming Winterlude festivities and various “outreach products.”

In an email, a spokesman also said the department has provided more than $200,000 to organizations, including provincial lieutenant-governors, for their 50th birthday projects.

By way of contrast, the government announced earlier this week it will spend $1.5 million on a cross-country project to raise awareness about the Holodomor, a state-sponsored famine in Ukraine in 1932-33 in which millions starved while resisting Soviet collectivist policies.

Feds to spend $50,000 for flag’s 50th birthday celebration – Politics – CBC News.

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