Muslims must “demand that right to participate” in national media, Khurrum Awan, the primary witness in the Maclean’s magazine hate speech hearing, told a weekend conference of the Canadian Arab Federation.
“And we have to tell them, you know what, if you’re not going to allow us to do that, there will be consequences. You will be taken to the human rights commission, you will be taken to the press council, and you know what? If you manage to get rid of the human rights code provisions [on hate speech], we will then take you to the civil courts system. And you know what? Some judge out there might just think that perhaps it’s time to have a tort of group defamation, and you might be liable for a few million dollars,” he said.
The story neglects to mention that Awan made a fool of himself on the stand again and again.
Of course, it also neglects to mention that Maclean’s has a hundred year head start on any (doomed to fail) Muslim media equivalent, mostly because a hundred years ago, Awan’s ancestors still didn’t know what toilet paper was.
PS: Sounds so familiar…
“Pakistan to Europe: Abolish free speech or else”
“Got that? If Western governments don’t censor their press, they should expect more terrorist attacks. And, with that threat as their opening offer, they’re now willing to begin “discussions on inter-religious harmony”.
“But just as long as everyone knows what will happen if the West decides to be disharmonious.
“I note in passing that the Pakistani delegation isn’t coming to Canada. Why bother? Our human rights commissions are already doing what Pakistan wants, prosecuting Islamic fatwas using the resources of the state.”
I wonder: does Awan’s bizarre habit of muttering to himself in public count as “free speech”? He did it at the press conference I went to, and was later caught doing it on TV. MMatt added the funny overdub but seriously: it is just really creepy when you see it for yourself. What is wrong with this guy?
