Angry in the Great White North

Recently, I wrote about how Jason Kenney, the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, spoke out against attempts by the Canadian Islamic Congress to punish Maclean's magazine for having the temerity to print a column by Mark Steyn, which included an excerpt of Steyn's recent book, America Alone:

A Conservative cabinet minister says the Canadian Islamic Congress is attempting to undermine basic Charter freedoms by filing complaints against a journalist who wrote a book on the Muslim world.

Jason Kenney, the secretary of state for multiculturalism, weighed in Wednesday on the controversy surrounding columnist Mark Steyn's bestseller America Alone. The Canadian Islamic Congress has filed complaints with federal and provincial human rights commissions based on an excerpt of Steyn's book that appeared in Maclean's Magazine in October.

"To be attacking opinions expressed by a columnist in a major magazine is a pretty bold attack on the basic Canadian value of freedom of the press and freedom of expression," Kenney said in an interview. "I think all Canadians would reject that kind of effort to undermine one of our basic freedoms."

The Congress has argued that the article in Maclean's "subjects Canadian Muslims to hatred and contempt," and is "flagrantly Islamophobic." Maclean's has refused the Congress' request to publish an unedited, multi-paged rebuttal to Steyn's commentary.

Well, apparently criticizing the Canadian Islamic Congress is also off limits.

Khurrum Awan wrote to Jason Kenney, accusing him of attacking the freedom of the Canadian Islamic Congress to express itself.

Jason Kenney points out that the Canadian Islamic Congress has been associated with people who have called for all Jews in Israel to be killed.  It is the sort of association that undermines the Canadian Islamic Congress' attempt to portray itself of the victim of hate speech.

But Jason Kenney also takes issue with Khurram Awan's attempt to enhance Awan's own importance:

Lastly, I would appreciate your clarification of one aspect of your letter.  At the end of the cover note that accompanied your letter, you identified yourself as:

Khurrum Awan
Judicial Law Clerk / Articling Student at Law Office of the
Chief Justice Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Were you writing on your own behalf?  Or were you writing on behalf of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice?  I have taken the liberty of copying Roslyn Levine, Executive Legal Assistant in the Office of the Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for clarification.

Ouch.

I'm not sure what Awan was thinking when he made such a big deal about his status with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. 

Perhaps he was trying to intimidate Jason Kenney.  Like that had a snowball's chance of working.

Perhaps he is confused and thinks Canada has already become an Islamic republic, where there is no distinction between secular law and religious authority.  Not yet, and it won't happen as long as Jason Kenney has anything to do with it.

You can see a copy of Jason Kenney's letter to Khurrum Awan for yourself.