No Ontario hearing on Islam article April 12, 2008
Posted by hamiltonmuslims in News.trackback
LONDON, Ont.–A magazine article suggesting Muslims pose a threat to North America is Islamophobic and “promotes prejudice towards Muslims,” the Ontario Human Rights Commission says.
Despite strongly worded condemnation of the Maclean’s article, the commission announced yesterday that under the Ontario Human Rights Code, it could not legally proceed to hear a complaint led by local lawyer Faisal Joseph.
“We are concerned about the content … We think it fosters stereotypes and has a negative impact on the (Muslim) communities,” chief commissioner Barbara Hall said.
In Ontario, magazines are not covered under the rights code, she said.
In October 2006, Maclean’s published “The Future Belongs to Islam,” an excerpt from Mark Steyn’s book, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It.
“If you said these things (in the article) in a workplace, we would certainly take the complaint and it is very possible we could find discrimination in the workplace,” Hall said.
A human rights hearing of the case is set for June in British Columbia. Its code covers publications.
In a statement, Maclean’s said it is pleased the commission decided not to proceed, but rejected the suggestion Maclean’s is “biased against a particular community.”
The Canadian Press
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