Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 1998, Pages 49, 113

Canadian Chronicle

Muslims Outraged Over Cartoon Depicting Them as Mad Dogs

By Faisal Kutty

A Nov. 18 political cartoon in the Montreal Gazette showing a snarling dog wearing an Arab headdress has outraged Canadian Muslims. The cartoon by Terry Mosher was headlined "In the name of Islamic Extremism," and compounded the insult with the statement, "with our apologies to dogs everywhere."

The caricature also prompted a quick response from the Washington, DC-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "It is unconscionable that members of any faith be portrayed in such a manner. This is an example of the current trend toward demonization of Islam and dehumanization of Muslims," said Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR.

Following the Muslim response, the Gazette stated in its Nov. 22 edition that it was not the paper's intention to equate all Muslims with terrorism nor was it intended to offend anyone of the Muslim faith. The editorial board said that the cartoon was intended to express "disgust at the massacre of more than 60 innocent tourists in Egypt."

"His [Mosher's] cartoon referred exclusively to Islam, and made no mention of the massacre," responded Awad. "It is reminiscent of Nazi-era portrayals of Jews as rats and vermin."

The Gazette followed up on Nov. 26 with a long response to the Muslim community, which some called a justification rather than an apology. Wrote editorial page editor Peter Hadekel: "No newspaper should consciously offend the deeply held religious beliefs of its readers or subject a religious group to hatred or ridicule. But at the same time, no newspaper should ignore terrorist acts committed by those who claim to be acting in the name of religion."

Jerusalem Fund Hosts Dinner

"What's happening in Palestine is worse than what happened in South Africa," says Ibrahim Hewitt, "because what's happening in Palestine is sanctioned by the international community." Hewitt, a director of the London-based International Palestinian Development Fund (INTERPAL), was in Toronto on Nov. 8 to address a fund-raising dinner organized by a Palestinian relief group.

Hewitt, a father of three who converted to Islam in 1981, first visited Palestine in 1988 as part of a fact-finding mission in the wake of the intifada. He says he has been to the homelands in South Africa, but was shocked at the living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. Since that time he has been active in publicizing the plight of the Palestinians.

Some 150 people attended the function held at the Islamic Foundation of Toronto and organized by the Toronto-based Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (JFHS), a non-profit, non-political, charitable organization established in 1991. The group currently works in the areas of emergency relief, education, economic development, health and social services.

"Palestine must remain central to our thinking."

The audience was clearly moved by Hewitt's emotional presentation. "Palestine must remain central to our thinking" because of its special significance in Muslim history, he told the audience. "The minute we abandon our brothers and sisters in this area, we abandon Al-Aqsa Mosque."

With his voice sometimes cracking, he spoke about mosques destroyed and turned into dumps and nightclubs, and women and children killed and wounded. "The people are systematically abused, physically and mentally," he said. "We must be ashamed as a Muslim ummah [community]."

Hewitt, who served as the general secretary of the Islamia Schools Trust and worked as Yusuf Islam's assistant, currently works as a development officer with the Association of Muslim Schools (AMS) in the United Kingdom. He told the crowd that the term anti-Semitic has become a cover with which "anyone who criticizes Israel is branded." He said he had no problems with Judaism but was attacking Zionism and the policies of the Israeli government.

According to Hewitt, the peace agreement will not work because it does not take into consideration the plight of the 2.3 million refugees. "There can be no peace without justice," he said. In his hour-long presentation, he also addressed the other obstacle to peace, the Israeli settlements. He pointed out that the settlers had established settlements strategically on higher ground around Arab towns and villages. Hewitt said that as of October of this year there were about 300,000 settlers—an increase of 50 percent over the past five years.

For information on contributing toward humanitarian projects for Palestinians, contact Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (JFHS), P.O.Box 1628, Station "B," Mississauga, Ontario, L4Y 4G3, tel. (416) 897-8772 or fax (416) 897-7820.

George Bush Honored Amidst Protests

Former U.S. President George Bush was honored with a doctorate of laws degree at the University of Toronto, while some 4,000 angry protesters shouted and jeered. The Nov. 19 function at Hart House was attended by about 500 invited guests, including former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Ontario Premier Mike Harris, former Premier David Peterson and media mogul Ted Rogers.

Campus security was at its zenith and police got into a shoving match with protesters carrying signs reading "Hey George, Get Lost" and "What Next? Honorary degrees for Adolf Hitler?" Nineteen-year-old university student Randa Hammadieh held up photos of Iraqi children and demanded an explanation of why Bush was being honored.

While they waited for Bush, demonstrators shouted, "one, two, three, four—Prichard is a corporate whore," in reference to the university's president who was instrumental in selecting Bush for the honor. When Bush and some of the other guests were conducted into the hall through a hidden path that avoided the crowd, the protesters took out their frustration by throwing snowballs and shouting "shame, shame" at invited guests. However, the crowd calmed down after police agreed to withdraw.

In fact the protesters were drawn from a broad spectrum. Some protested that the university was selling degrees for fund-raising, a charge arising from the $6.4 million gift to the university made by Bush's friend Peter Munk, chairman of the Toronto-based mining company Barrick Gold Corp. Bush, along with Mulroney, sits on Barrick's international advisory board. Professor Douglas Chambers, who teaches English at the university, told reporters that "this award is a sign that the university is prepared to sell its degrees."

Others showed up to protest Bush's role in the Gulf war, the invasion of Panama, the Iran-Contra arms scandal, his tenure as CIA director and his support of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor. Chambers said, "As president he engaged in a number of criminal activities, the Gulf war among them."

Saqib Meer of the Canadian-Muslim Civil Liberties Association (CMCLA) said that his group was disappointed by the university's decision to honor Bush, whose "track record of death and destruction devalues the honor reserved to recognize a 'lifetime dedicated to public service.'" Meer said the award was as disgusting as when "York University awarded the president of Israel, Chaim Herzog, an honorary degree in 1989."

As Bush rose to deliver his keynote address, some 30 academics invited to the function walked out of the hall in a dramatic show of solidarity with the protesters, who cheered as the academics emerged. Bush was reportedly unaffected and joked that the noise from outside "reminds me of the happy hour at the Baghdad Ramada Inn." Meer, a director of the CMCLA, said that "such a comment clearly reveals his lack of humanity and insensitivity to the plight of innocent Iraqi civilians."