December 21, 2005: Views of Markham City Councillor, Khalid Usman, Towards His Host Canadian Culture Versus Views of the New Archbishop Of York Towards His Host British Culture
PRESS RELEASE
(Note: The first half of Immigration Watch Canada's original press release on the Liberal nomination meeting in Mississauga was based on reports from the Canadian Coalition For Democracies. Mr, Alghabra has denied making the comments. The CCD has conceded that statements originally attributed to Mr. Omar Alghabra, the Liberal candidate for Mississauga-Erindale cannot be verified by witnesses. However, numerous reliable witnesses (including former Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish) now attribute the statements to Markham City Councillor, Khalid Usman, one of Mr. Alghabra's main supporters.)
Recent statements by a Markham, Ontario City Councillor, Khalid Usman (at a Liberal nomination meeting in Mississauga-Erindale) and comments by the new Archbishop of York in Britain provide an enlightening contrast between attitudes of immigrants towards their host countries, says Immigration Watch Canada. The contrast is particularly appropriate to note during the Christmas season, an event which has traditionally advocated enlightened attitudes in human relations.
Mr. Usman, a Muslim, was one of the main supporters of Omar Alghabra, who recently ran for and won the Liberal nomination in Mississauga-Erindale. According to one witness at the meeting, Mr. Usman declared to the audience after Mr. Alghabra had made his victory speech, “This is a win for Islam. This is Muslim victory. We Muslims won the West. We will win the East. We will win the North and the South. Islam will take over Canada.”-
Mr. Alghabra has been criticized for remaining silent about Mr. Usman's speech and not immediately and publicly chastising Mr. Usman.
The Liberal nomination meeting was held in the Coptic Christian Centre of the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius in Mississauga. Several hundred people attended.
A number of Canadians have heard comments similar to these, particularly from members of ethnic groups that have come here recently in large numbers. But the majority of Canadians have not witnessed these things and will be shocked by such comments. The questions that they will ask are these: Have Canada's immigration policies gone so sour that these and other groups of recent immigrants think of Canada as territory to be partitioned and colonized? As Mr. Usman's use of the word “win” seems to suggest, do they think they are here to compete for power with the host population rather than adapt and become a part of Canada?
According to a December 19 press release issued by the Canadian Coalition of Democracies, one spectator at the nomination meeting wrote a letter to Prime Minister Martin. The letter was critical of the comments made at the nomination meeting. The successful Liberal nominee, Mr. Omar Alghabra, has denied making any comments similar to those of Mr. Usman.
In Britain, comments by the new Archbishop of York about his attitudes towards his host country, provide an interesting contrast to those made by the Markham Councillor. The archbishop, Dr. John Sentamu, is a black immigrant who fled to Britain from Uganda during the Idi Amin regime of the 1970's.
Instead of wanting to import Ugandan culture into Britain, Dr. Sentamu, according to a BBC report, says he has a passion for the English culture.
Instead of asserting that he wants to claim power for his ethnic group, he has said that a failure to rediscover English culture would fuel greater political extremism.”What is it to be English? It is a very serious question. When you ask a lot of people in this country, they are very vague.”
Instead of trying to elevate multiculturalism and diversity to the height of major national goals as has been done in Canada, he says that multiculturalism has left the English embarrassed about their true national identity. “Because the Empire is gone, there is almost a sense in which there is not a big idea that drives this nation,” he said.
Instead of working to erase the host culture and history, he says “Multiculturalism has seemed to imply, wrongly for me, 'Let other cultures be allowed to express themselves but do not let the majority culture…tell us its glories, its struggles, its joys, its pains'.”
Instead of suggesting that the host population should spend their lives making up for past sins, Dr. Sentamu praised English culture, saying it had given the world parliamentary democracy.
“It is a place that has allowed reason to be at the heart of all these things, that has allowed genuine dissent without resort to violence and that has allowed the fantastic music that we experience in our culture,” he said.
Immigration Watch Canada notes Dr. Sentamu's use of the phrase “our culture”. It demonstrates Dr. Sentamu's acceptance of his host country and his adaptation to that country, actions which most Canadians expect of all immigrants.
Prime Minister Martin, many elected officials at all three levels of Canadian government, Canada's immigration industry and a host of Canada's politically correct —all of whom have prepared fertile ground for the divisive comments made by Mr. Usman and members of other ethnic groups whose numbers have swollen as a result of Canada's mass immigration policy—-should take note of the Archbishop's words.
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