Blips on the Screen: 13 Feb 08

Imam Soharwardy Drops Suit Against Ezra Levant

by Shane Borgess of Political Vindication
http://politicalvindication.com/

Hot Air has the details this morning about the Canadian Imam who initially lodged a complaint against Ezra Levant for printing the Danish cartoons in his magazine. He's now dropping the complaint, calling off the Canadian Human Rights Commission that was investigating the charge. He says:

"Over the two years that we have gone through the process, I understand that most Canadians see this as an issue of freedom of speech, that that principle is sacred and holy in our society," said Soharwardy, president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada.

"I believe Canadian society is mature enough not to absorb the messages that the cartoons sent. Only a very small fraction of Canadian media decided to publish those cartoons."

Do you see that last line? That is Soharwardy dancing in the end zone. In his world, everyone must peg their freedoms to his sensitivities, and the fact that so many magazines were unwilling to risk their lives printing obnoxious, but ultimately harmless cartoons is a victory for Islam, and he's reminding us of that. His quip that he believes Canadians are mature enough not to absorb the messages the cartoons sent has nothing to do with why he sued Levant - Imam Soharwardy believed the cartoons were an offense against Mohammad. He believes that infidels must follow Quranic law just as Muslims do, and that means no pictures of Mohammed and certainly no insults against him either. We're all Muslims now.

Ezra Levant sees this for what it is, a public relations ploy by the Imam to appear magnanimous even as he backhands the country he has chosen to live in.

For two years, this corrupt, radical imam has hunted me using the resources of the taxpayers of Alberta for the "thought crime" of publishing a cartoon he didn't like. I had a preliminary discussion with my lawyer today. My aim is to file an abuse of process claim in the Court of Queen's Bench within the month. Whether or not I sue the commission itself, and its inquisitor Shirlene McGovern, is something I haven't discussed yet with my lawyers.

When the chief complainant in a two-year censorship exercise admits the whole thing was improper, an abuse of process suit is not just about recouping my losses. It's about holding a little fascist, and the government agency he hijacked, to account, and having grown-ups -- that is, real judges in real courts -- tell them that what they've been doing is morally and legally wrong.

Fight on, brother. To give an inch in this fight is to lose mile in the next.

Flashback: Outraged Canadian Asserts Bloody Right To Post Danish Cartoons