"Our government recognizes that respect for religious pluralism is inextricably linked to democratic development. But we can and should do more to respond to the plight of those who suffer merely because of their faith."
Source/Credit: Embassy | Canada
By Sneh Duggal | February 14, 2012
Government expected to announce office Feb. 19 at a facility in Vaughan, Ontario
The Harper government is expected to announce its Office of Religious Freedom next week at an Ahmadiyya Muslim community facility in suburban Toronto, Embassy has learned.
The announcement is set to take place Feb. 19 at the Aiwan Tahir, a multi-purpose centre in Vaughan, Ontario. The centre was built by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and inaugurated in July 2012.
It will come nearly two years after the Conservative Party first proposed the idea in its 2011 federal election campaign platform.
“It’s a big event…it’s a whole announcement of the Office of Religious Freedom,” said Farhan Khokhar, national secretary of communication for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Canada. Mr. Khokhar said it was a "formal announcement" and that “all stakeholders will be present." AMCC President Lal Khan Malik said he would be in attendance.
Peter Bhatti, chairman of International Christian Voice, whom the government consulted on the office's launch, also said he would also be attending the event with about 50 others from his group. He received an invitation from Minister of State for Sport Bal Gosal’s office.
“I am really very excited,” said Mr. Bhatti.
He said the government would likely announce the office, as well as the person who would take the reins as its ambassador.
Mr. Bhatti accepted an award from the Harper government in 2012 on behalf of his late brother, Shahbaz. He was Pakistan's minorities minister when he was assassinated in 2011 for his defence of religious groups such as Christians, who he believed were targeted by the country's blasphemy law.
Mr. Bhatti said the office would be a salute to his brother’s efforts and show that “his sacrifice is not going to be in vain, and people are in the position that they feel that [more] needs to be done...on religious freedoms.”
Robert Joustra, an editor and researcher with Cardus—a think tank that says it draws on "more than 2,000 years of Christian social thought" to "enrich and challenge public debate"—said he was aware that a government would be making an announcement. Cardus President Michael Van Pelt will also be attending.
Questions to Foreign Minister John Baird's office were redirected to the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Mr. Harper’s communications director Andrew MacDougall was staying mum on any details.
“I don’t confirm any of the prime minister’s announcements before he makes them. I like him to make news,” Mr. MacDougall said. He said the office was a priority for the government.
Long time coming
The 2011 Conservative election platform listed the office as one of its promises.
"Canada has a proud tradition of defending fundamental human rights, such as freedom of religion and freedom of conscience," the platform read.
"Our government recognizes that respect for religious pluralism is inextricably linked to democratic development. But we can and should do more to respond to the plight of those who suffer merely because of their faith."
The government has also previously met with leaders of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney met with Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in London, United Kingdom, on Oct. 12, 2012, according to a press release on the community’s website. The two leaders talked about the religious freedom office.
Cabinet ministers have been meeting and listening to Canadian and global religious representatives about how they should go about opening such an office.
The government released a series of photos of Mr. Baird alongside religious leaders during the summer of 2011. In June 2011, Mr. Baird met with Canada's ambassador to the Holy See, Anne Leahy, in Rome. Then in early July, he talked to the Holy See's ambassador to Canada, Archbishop Pedro López Quintana.
He reiterated Canada's commitment to establishing the office while in Istanbul, Turkey on July 15 to attend a meeting on combating religious intolerance.
He met Suzan Johnson Cook, the United States ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, on Aug. 3.
Then on Sept. 2, Mr. Baird met with the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the largest group of Ismaili Muslims, in Paris, France.
Some said they had expected the government to announce the office earlier in 2012. In August of that year, Mr. Baird’s office said the government was “still finalizing the last steps.”
Observers said they sensed that officials were treading carefully to choose an ambassador to lead the office.
"My understanding is they're working on identifying and getting the right candidate for that position [of ambassador]," Mr. Joustra told Embassy at the time.
-- Email: sduggal@embassynews.ca
-- Twitter: @snehduggal
—With files from Kristen Shane
Read original post here: Religious freedom office to be unveiled at Ahmadiyya Muslim centre in Toronto
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.