The Battle of Khartoon comes to Halifax
Nova Scotia's leading newspaper, the Chronicle Herald, is being hauled before that province's human rights commissions for -- you'll never guess -- publishing a cartoon. Here it is:
According to news reports,
The cartoon, published April 18 in the Chronicle Herald newspaper, depicts a woman in a burka holding a sign that reads, "I want millions," and she says, "I can put it towards my husband's next training camp."
The cartoon by Bruce MacKinnon is a reference to Cheryfa MacAulay Jamal, a woman from Nova Scotia whose husband was arrested in 2006 in an anti-terrorism raid. Qayyum Abdul Jamal was released from jail after charges against him were stayed on April 15...
Dan Leger, the Herald's director of news content, said the cartoon does not take aim at all Muslims.
"The whole purpose of that cartoon was to comment on the outrageous demands of this individual for compensation long before any hearing into her case had ever been held," he said.
In an interview with the Herald before the cartoon ran, Jamal said she wanted to sue the federal government for what her family has gone through and told the reporter, "I want millions," Leger noted.
"[MacKinnon] depicted her exactly the way she looks and used her own words, and that's the genius of cartooning that you're able to do that," he said.
The Chronicle Herald hasn't just been taken to the NSHRC -- you'll recall that nut house from this previous post -- but they've actually been contacted by real police, too.
Leger said he first heard of the Islamic group's concerns when the newspaper was contacted by police.
I'm sure the Chronicle Herald will have a lot to say on this matter themselves -- they've been one of the newspapers leading the charge against the "thought crimes" provisions of human rights acts. Here are my first-blush reactions.
- This was a cartoon that commented on a particular Muslim radical, who had issued particular political demands ("millions of dollars"). This is just the latest example of radical Islam attempting to criminalize criticism as "religious discrimination". The Chronicle Herald was clearly engaging in political commentary. Radical Islamists, and their useful idiots in Canada's human rights commissions, will do anything to silence their political critics.
- It's embarrassing enough that rogue human rights commissions are taking on such clearly legitimate expressions of political opinion. But what is the excuse for real police calling the newspaper? When Calgary's resident jihadist, Syed Soharwardy, tried to get the police to arrest me for opposing radical Islam, they politely refused. They didn't even contact me -- they knew a nuisance complaint when they saw one. Why are Halifax police allowing their good offices to be abused? Don't they know the inappropriate chilling effect that will have on the media? Or is that their point?
- Look at the identity of the official complainant here. It's not Mrs. Jamal, the money-grubbing wife of the accused terrorist. It's Ziaullah Khan, of Halifax's "Centre for Islamic Development". Here's Khan's angry rant about the honour killing of Aqsa Parvez, whose father killed her for, amongst other sins, not wearing a hijab. Khan doesn't focus his fury on Parvez's father, but on the "hatemongers" in the media for covering the horrible story. I'm surprised he didn't file a human rights commission back then.
- Why is it that Khan, whose job description is the promotion of Islam in Halifax, has allied himself with the Jamals? It's because, regrettably, too many imams in too many mosques in North America are radical themselves, and even if they don't preach terrorism, they excuse it, or in this case, sympathize with the accused terrorist. If only the Khan's of this world were as eager and angry to speak out against Muslim terrorism, instead of media coverage, or Canadian counter-terrorism efforts.
- But why has Mrs. Jamal herself not yet filed a defamation suit against the newspaper? Khan called the cartoon "libellous". If so, Mrs. Jamal could sue. But then she'd have to pay for her own lawyers -- not have the clowns at the human rights commission pay for them. And the Chronicle Herald would have centuries-old common law defences, such as truth and fair comment. Moreover, they'd be able to cross-examine Mrs. Jamal at length, not only about her demands for "millions of dollars", but about her knowledge of her husband's activities. No, better to stick with kangaroo courts and made-up "human rights", than to go to real courts.
- Is it a coincidence that the Chronicle Herald, one of Canada's smartest critics of HRCs, has been targetted by one? Maybe. Or maybe their CEO, the mawkish Michael Noonan, is still smarting over the paper's amazing smackdown of him, and thought he'd mete out a little kangaroo court justice.
- I hate the fact that the Chronicle Herald will now have to spend thousands of dollars fighting against this unholy alliance between fascist Islamist censors and weepy politically correct HRC bureaucrats. But, other than that unfortunate side-effect, I'm actually glad for this, in a dark, "the worse, the better" kind of way. The more people hear about these abusive HRCs, the more they realize the threat to our freedoms they have become, the more they realize that everyone is vulnerable -- not just conservatives like me and Mark Steyn, but anyone who dares to have an opinion -- the more there will be a demand for reform or abolition of these commissions. As with the offensive Barbara Hall of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, I hope that Khan's repugnant voice is heard again and again and again, for he discredits his cause more than any of his critics could.
UPDATE, via Robert: Here's some background on the lovely Mrs. Jamal herself.
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