“This province has benefited so mightily, so greatly, from the Muslim people that have come … to our country and to the province of Saskatchewan. They have contributed in every conceivable way.”
Source/Credit: The StarPhoenix
By Alex MacPherson | December 21, 2015
Education and openness could curb anti-Muslim sentiments in Saskatchewan following the terror attacks in Paris and the humanitarian crisis in Syria, according to a Saskatoon Islamic group.
“Our motto is, ‘Love for all, hatred for none,’ and (with) what has been depicted in the name of Islam, we feel our religion has been hijacked,” Noman Hassan, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, told reporters following a meeting with the premier on Monday.
“That’s why we are telling everyone — our fellow Canadians — ‘Give us the opportunity to get rid of those misconceptions and concerns that they may have.'”
Canada has experienced several violent attacks on Muslims, including the burning of a mosque in Peterborough, Ont., since the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris.
Saskatchewan has been spared such incidents, but comments on news websites suggest some people living in the province harbour strains of Islamophobia, Hassan said.
“You always see people saying something that is discriminatory, racist, and you can see that Islamophobia is there, and I think that is the cause of concern for us.”
Hassan said anyone with concerns should dispel them by meeting members of Saskatoon’s Muslim community.
“I believe education is the key for any issue that we have, and certainly this one … for sure,” he added.
Ahmadiyya is a comparatively small religious movement founded in India in the late 19th century. The group holds several beliefs different from those of most Muslims, including that the Messiah has returned.
Premier Brad Wall said he asked for the meeting with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at not only to discuss Syrian refugees, who are beginning to arrive in Saskatchewan, but also to emphasize the importance of Muslim immigrants to the province.
“This province has benefited so mightily, so greatly, from the Muslim people that have come … to our country and to the province of Saskatchewan,” Wall said. “They have contributed in every conceivable way.”
The actions of a “very, very small number” of people around the world should not force anyone to defend their religion, and it’s up to everyone in Saskatchewan to stop that from happening, Wall said.
“Maybe everyone else could make sure that that is no longer the concern or the plight of anybody, regardless of their faith, that they would feel that they would have to defend it,” the premier said.
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