Imam calling for Jews to be killed in sermon at Montreal mosque

[Independent voter]

Imam is giving a talk at a Mosque in Montreal and calls for the killing of Jews. Should this behavior be illegal?

If he traveled a bit South and gave the same talk in the US, it's legal. Some of the crazy stuff the Reverend Farrakhan says comes to mind and it's much worse.

I don't think words should get you thrown in jail, not in that setting. Yes I'm aware yelling "fire" in a crowded theater is bad, but this was an academic talk.





http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montre...sque-1.4037397



A Montreal mosque is facing a police complaint and rebukes from the larger Muslim community after a video of an imam delivering a sermon in which he asks for Jews to be killed surfaced online.

The sermon took place at the Dar Al-Arqam Mosque in the city's Saint-Michel neighbourhood on Dec. 23, 2016.

The video was posted to the mosque's YouTube channel three days later. The imam in the video is Jordanian cleric Sheikh Muhammad bin Musa Al Nasr — he was reportedly an invited guest of the mosque.

In the video, the imam recites in Arabic the verse: "O Muslim, O servant of Allah, O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."

CBC independently verified the speech and its translation.

The controversial verse comes from a religious text known as a hadith, which interprets the words and actions by the Prophet Muhammad.

The hadith in question deals with end times and tells how stones and trees will ask Muslims to come and kill Jews hiding behind them.

Spike in calls about hateful comments since mosque shooting, Montreal police chief says
CBC Montreal has reached out to the Dar Al-Arqam mosque for comment and was told no one was available.

Accused of inciting violence

The video was brought to the attention of B'nai Brith Canada, which filed a complaint with Montreal police on Monday.

The organization said it is totally unacceptable that a mosque would allow this to go on.

"This is inciting violence, and this is inciting radicalization," said Harvey Levine, regional director of B'nai Brith in Quebec.

"It's against the law and has to be stopped," he said, adding that the complaint was filed with the Montreal hate crimes unit.

Harvey Levine
Harvey Levine, regional director of B'nai Brith in Quebec, urged police to act more quickly. (Sarah Leavitt/CBC)

Montreal police confirmed they received a complaint, but would not provide any more information.

Mosque should apologize, says Muslim council

The president of the Muslim Council of Montreal, Salam Elmenyawi, wants to know why the imam was invited. He says the mosque should apologize.

He added that the Dar Al-Arqam Mosque is not one of the more than 40 institutions the council represents.

Imam Ziad Asali of the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects told CBC Montreal's Daybreak Thursday that he was also mystified as to why the cleric was invited to preach.

"I do not understand how this person was invited to come and give a sermon and spread this hatred in Montreal against any community," he said.

The hadith is one of more than 100,000 that are written in many books, some of which are considered authentic, while others are not, said Asali.

"To use the themes of the Prophet to spread hatred is actually something that is disrespectful towards the Prophet himself," Asali said.

There are mosques in Montreal, the imam said, that embrace a more extremist message.

"These people, not only do they show hatred towards non-Muslims, they even show hatred to us Muslims," he said.

Other complaints

Levine said this is the second complaint against a Montreal-area mosque filed with the Montreal police's hate crime unit in just over 40 days.

He said the police are still investigating that first instance but says they are not taking action soon enough.

"This is totally unacceptable. We want to know why the hate crimes unit has not done something to date yet. This person should be arrested and charged for hate crimes," said Levine.

'Words can be knives': Premier urges Quebecers to cool the rhetoric
CIJA Quebec, an organization that advocates for the Jewish community, said it has a close relationship with the Montreal police and has been following the two complaints.

"We know the Montreal police are seriously and diligently investigating these sermons," said David Ouellette, deputy director for CIJA Quebec.

He added the group believes the police are close to completing their investigation of the first complaint.

[dacoolist]

I thought Canadians were so peaceful though #nationshamingOMG

[Zandalarian Paladin]

I'm in Quebec, and I haven't heard from that yet. I guess I'll learn more tomorrow in the newspaper.

But it seems odd that something like this happen?

[Alydael]

I don't think you should make it illegal, but you should penalize it:

Most religious organizations enjoy certain benefits such as: tax breaks, charity status, special funding even (at least they do in US, not sure about Canada). They should immediately lose all of that.

[dcschess05]

Studies have shown that this sentiment is not uncommon within the demographic. Not shocking to me, but I certainly oppose what he is saying. To answer your question, no I do not think he should be jailed for his words. In my mind it's similar to the WBC in the US... they call for the death of soldiers/gays/ect daily. If words lead to actions though, that is an entirely different scenario.

[Super Kami Dende]

Wow, so much islamaphobia. How dare you question their Culture which includes their willingness to wipe out an entire group of people. #notallImams


[Infracted]

[Calfredd]

I don't think you should make it illegal, but you should penalize it:

Most religious organizations enjoy certain benefits such as: tax breaks, charity status, special funding even (at least they do in US, not sure about Canada). They should immediately lose all of that.

I'd say start with a warning and then one-by-one take those away but also give them chances to earn it all back.

[Alydael]

I'd say start with a warning and then one-by-one take those away but also give them chances to earn it all back.

The items I mentioned (tax breaks, charity status) basically amount to some kind of "government" related benefit. The government just can't be seen supporting stuff like that. I feel that to qualify for "government" funding- you should have to keep it "clean."

Government benefits result from taxes (directly and indirectly). A chunk of tax money came from people he is speaking about. That just is not "just."

[Garnier Fructis]

Imam is giving a talk at a Mosque in Montreal and calls for the killing of Jews. Should this behavior be illegal?

Yes. Calling for genocide is not speech that should be protected. It's vile.

[GennGreymane]

Someone forgot they arent on the internet

[Dextroden]

Well, this to be expected outside of western nations....

>Canada

Huh.

[announced]

just another ordinary day in Montreal.

[derpkitteh]

as much as i hate it, calling for death isn't saying "kill that guy over there" so therefore it should be free speech.

but it should definitely come with some penalties. there needs to be cameras in every single part of that mosque, and in the personal homes of these people involved in this.

[Nitros14]

I definitely don't think this is speech that is worth protecting, should be illegal. Nothing to do with Islamophobia, I think anti-muslim hate speech (kill the muslims) should be illegal too.

[Illuminance]

If he traveled a bit South and gave the same talk in the US, it's legal. Some of the crazy stuff the Reverend Farrakhan says comes to mind and it's much worse.

Not exactly. Inciting violence is not protected speech if it is likely to result in any followup action.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio

Also, academic is not the word I'd use for a backwards speech given by a religious official in a mosque.

[Endus]

I mean, okay? The police are already investigating. The major Muslim groups have already condemned this. So it sure looks like it's already basically being handled appropriately.

[Zeek Daniels]

So this is where real freedom of speech is halted. Saying you hate someone is ok because its your opinion and your view. Saying we as a society need to kill X group of ppl is where you violate another persons right to live. Your speech is inciting violence and death. While just saying Oh we hate jews would have been appropriate in my book.

[Hotmail]

That sounds like a minefield of political blunders for Coderre. The Imam is inciting violence but not actually threatening anyone, so I think it would be best to stay as far away from this one as possible. Let the US deal with it.

[alexkeren]

It just goes to show you that the Quran isn't a text embraced by the Hippie Generation.

[Dextroden]

I mean, okay? The police are already investigating. The major Muslim groups have already condemned this. So it sure looks like it's already basically being handled appropriately.

The same reason you talk about Islamaphobia and such in events when the police are handling it.