Collin May’s dismissal as chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunal begs the question: Who's calling the shots in the Alberta government?.Bizarrely, it looks as if it might be the prominent Ottawa-based Islamic scholar and activist Mustafa Farooq, who recently stepped down as the chief executive officer of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM.) If that's correct, the next question is, 'Why would the Alberta government take advice from a religious leader who advocated making places like Edmonton an official Islamic city?’.Let us recap. When May was appointed chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro seemed pleased enough with his decision to appoint the gay Calgary lawyer..“I am thrilled someone with Collin’s skills and experience will serve our province as the chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. This is a vital body that helps protect Albertans’ most important and sacred rights as equal persons,” he wrote..May had already served on the commission for three years when he took the helm in July, tasked with fostering equality and reducing discrimination. Then on September 15, Shandro’s department emailed media an official copy of a cabinet order rescinding May’s appointment. It offered no reason or comment for the decision. What changed?.To all appearances, May's firing was triggered by a tweeted letter from Farooq's organization, the NCCM. Some 28 organizations and mosques signed on. At issue was a passage in a review May wrote 13 years ago of the book Islamic Imperialism: A History. May explained the view of the author, Efraim Karsh, that “Islam is one of the most militant religions known to man.”. Collin MayCollin May .The NCCM wanted May fired. So Shandro complied and told May to resign. May refused, then got the boot anyway..Is there another side of the story? Yes, the NCCM claimed May refused to meet with them often enough. The government jumped all over May for that alleged transgression..But May's lawyer, Kathryn Marshall, of Levitt Sheikh, disputed the charge.."After this matter was first raised, my client promised to meet with various community groups and individuals. He kept his promise. In fact, more meetings were planned until the NCCM unilaterally cut the process short. The Government [sic] is aware of this but fired him anyway," wrote Marshall in a statement..May — as ordered by the Alberta government — had in fact participated in at least one Zoom meeting on July 6 with Farooq while he was still NCCM chief executive officer, and with Said Omar, the NCCM’s Alberta advocacy officer. (Farooq has since stepped down as CEO.).So who is Farooq? He would not return calls or emails from the Western Standard. So to find out more about the man who appears to hold such clout over the Kenney government, let’s review some of his own past writings. Most of have been scrubbed from the NCCM Facebook page but some have been archived elsewhere, notably by the New York-based American Centre for Democracy..In a November 2009 Facebook post, Farooq wrote about and promoted a goal that's peculiarly disturbing..“How are we Muslims going to create a Cordoba in Edmonton / Toronto / Montreal / any Canadian city? We have a massive task ahead of us, but I really believe that is one at which we can succeed, one in which we erase these artificial ‘nation-state’ identities and move together to pursue Jannah.” .What exactly did Farooq mean by creating a "Cordoba" in Edmonton and other Canadian cities in place of the "artificial nation-state"? It's impossible to say, but for historical reference, the Caliphate of Cordoba was a theocratic Islamic state that conquered and subjugated much of medieval Spain and Portugal. At its peak, it achieved a 'series of spectacular victories against the Christians,' .Farooq also mused about Orientalism and the “Quranic imperative to come to a Common Word.”.“To me, the concept of ‘A Common Word’ provides a more effective paradigm than the Us/Them mentality. It supersedes the so-called “Canadian” identity (which apparently is related to hockey and maple syrup) and allows us to engage people on far deeper levels.”.“It allows us to ask questions like, “What is justice? How are we going to get there?” It allows us to say, “We are going to work towards peace... It gives us the mandate to become a dominant discourse — for when truth comes, evil vanishes.”.Dominant? Evil? Who’s evil? Canadians who like hockey and maple syrup on their pancakes?.Farooq penned other interesting opinions. On June 5, 2020, a Farooq Facebook post took a shot at street preachers. “A bunch of awful people showed up in Ottawa to scream about the redemption of Christ and All Lives Matter.”.And on February 10, 2020, Farooq retweeted a post supportive of notorious Canadian Al Qaida fighter, Omar Khadr..“Omar Khdar [sic] is a national hero who did nothing wrong.”.The families of two US service members might beg to differ. Khadr admitted to throwing grenades in a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan. He was convicted of killing US Sgt. Christopher Speer and blinding US Sgt. Layne Morris in one eye. After serving 13 years in Guantanamo Bay prison, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enraged Canadians by awarding Khadar $10.5 million, saying his constitutional rights were violated..Farooq has heaped praise on the pro-mujaheddin Imam Ibrahim Hindy, calling him a “national treasure” and an “amazing Canadian.” .In 2019, Hindy pushed to have Coptic Christian Conservative Ghada Melek dropped as a candidate in Mississauga. At the time, Melek was ordered by the NCCM to “denounce anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia” and commit to “meeting folks from diverse backgrounds and learn more.”.Imam Hindy was known for ending his Friday sermons with prayers asking Allah to bless the mujaheddin — Islamic holy warriors. That would be the majority of Canadians. .“O Allah, raise the standing of Islam and the Muslims … give victory to the mujaheddin … unify their rows and consolidate their word and give them victory over Your enemy and their enemies…” he’d pray.. Ibrahim HindiIbrahim Hindi .Really? Mujaheddin holy warriors in Canada?. Kathryn MarshallKathryn Marshall .Yes, said high-profile anti-racism activist Raheel Raza, a Pakistani-born Muslim, who, as a practising, observant Muslim, agreed with author Karsh’s conclusion political Islam is militant..“Political Islam is militaristic, political Islam creates violence, political Islam is dangerous, and political Islam is growing,” said Toronto-based Raza, president of the Council of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, a founding member of The Muslim Reform Movement, head of Muslims Against Anti-Semitism and author of the award-winning book Their Jihad — Not My Jihad..Raza noted political Islam “hates Christians, homosexuals, minorities and women.”.Which brings us to another scrubbed Jan. 22, 2012 post by Farooq..The thread of the post discussed if it were possible for the Muslim and LGBTQ communities to form alliances..“As a political science student, if there is one thing I have learned, we can’t predict the future in terms of alliances,” wrote Farooq. “Picking the side of justice, however, and truth, is something we can never lose at (because even if we are oppressed, we are drawing closer to Allah). Dr. Sherman Jackson, I know, has made his opinion on this pretty clear which is to say that we do not condemn homosexuals (just as we do not condemn those who have feelings of attractions towards the opposite sex) but condemn the act of homosexuality (just as we condemn adultery).” (Sherman is an American scholar of Islam.).Considering Farooq’s goal to recreate Cordoba — which was a theocratic Islamic caliphate — in Canadian cities, along with his other radical views, is he really somebody from whom the Alberta UCP government should take advice on who heads the province’s human rights commission?.It’s unfathomable the Kenney government would yield to the NCMM pressure. If there’s more to the story, the government should speak up..Oh wait, there may be more to the story — involving the NDP according to May's lawyer..A pending statement of claim is expected to shed more details on the NDP’s alleged role in this affair..Marshall insisted the decision to oust her client was “politically motivated.”.If that’s so, Albertans deserve to know what politicians were involved and who’s bidding they may be doing.
