York mosque wins approval
Residents up in arms over imam's political views
Long-time Newmarket residents mingled with their new Muslim neighbours but there was no Welcome Wagon waiting in the wings.
They were on opposite sides of a simmering debate over a proposed mosque lead by a controversial imam and they squeezed into the town's council chamber yesterday to be seen and heard.
Dozens of supporters attended Newmarket council's committee of the whole to back a plan for the town's first mosque, on Mulock Dr. near Bayview Ave., a proposal that has clearly divided the quiet suburban community.
Opponents have taken great pains to point out they're not against the mosque but its leader. But many left the meeting upset that Mayor Tony Van Bynen had refused to hear their concerns about imam Zafar Bangash and his political views.
They were equally upset by the committee's unanimous decision to approve a site plan that will allow the Islamic Society of York Region to convert the ranch-style bungalow it owns at 700 Mulock into a 1,700-square-foot mosque without holding a public meeting. Newmarket council is expected to approve the plan at its next meeting later this month.
Under the town's zoning regulations, the building is on land that is zoned rural and a mosque or place of worship is an acceptable use. As a result, no public meeting is required.
Before deputations were heard, the mayor warned the crowd and speakers to keep their personal views to themselves and stick to the issue as council's only mandate was to deal with the site plan.
But that didn't stop heated discussions outside the council chamber after the committee approved the proposal.
Opponents raised fears that Bangash, who is also the Islamic Society's president, will use the mosque to spread hatred.
Jack Hurst, past-president of the Newmarket Ratepayers Association, said approving the mosque without first hearing residents' concerns showed "council is avoiding the issue."
He noted controversial planning matters are often discussed at public meetings.
"I think people today are upset by the process," he said, adding he wasn't there to block the mosque "because people should have a place to pray.
"My main concern about this whole issue is Zafar Bangash and his views, which are anti-Semitic and extremely vitriolic. ... This individual is the main driver of the mosque. The town should not be focusing on the bricks and mortar, but the impetus behind it."
Hurst said he's read Bangash's anti-American and anti-Semitic views and his support of Iran.
"He will have you believe all these views will not be expressed in a mosque in Newmarket. I don't believe it at all."
The imam has been most criticized for his strident views on Israel, Kashmir and his support for Iranian-style revolts in countries where Muslims are in the majority. In Toronto, he led protests against Danish editorial cartoons and is a proponent of sharia law.
Area resident George Cunningham, who has been outspoken about the imam's political position, accused the mayor of "handcuffing me," by not allowing him to voice his concerns. A retired police officer, Cunningham asked the committee to hold a public meeting, noting that yesterday's turnout "is a good indication there's more than nominal interest."
Rev. Bob Davies, chair of the Newmarket and York District Christian Ministerial Association and pastor at Christian Baptist Church on Main St., recommended council ask Ontario's Human Rights Commission "to review the situation and help you make a good decision. It's a way to clear the air."
Outside the chamber, mosque supporter Peter Leibovitch, a long-time friend of Bangash, credited the committee for "doing a good job," adding the mosque "was following the rules," so its proposal to convert the bungalow and construct about 50 parking spaces on the site should be approved.
"As to the question of Zafar's views, we live in a free society and have the right to different positions," said Leibovitch, a Jew, adding there are many in the Jewish community who don't support decisions made by the Israeli government. "And a lot of Jews are not happy with (U.S. President) George Bush's new militarism.
"Zafar Bangash doesn't agree with American foreign policy nor do millions of Canadians. I didn't know it's a crime not to agree with George Bush."
Leibovitch called on "reason to prevail," adding Bangash "is a gentle man in terms of life and service to the community. That can't be debated."
Cantor Marty Steinhouse of Newmarket's Or Hadash Synagogue said the community continues to fight anti-Semitism in schools "because people are uninformed.
"I'm afraid if what I read about Zafar Bangash is true and about the cause and effect it will have on the community."
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and
Islamic leader's views under fire
michelle shephard staff reporter
What started as a mundane zoning proposal for a Newmarket mosque has now made Zafar Bangash the target of a neighbourhood's wrath and once again ignited international debate about the separation of politics and religion.
Bangash's name may not be well known to many Canadians but his writings and his stridently anti-Israeli views, forceful support for an independent Kashmir and advocacy for Iranian-inspired Islamic theocracies has attracted international notice and the attention of Muslims and politicians at home.
...
Yesterday, that proposal led to a packed Newmarket city hall meeting filled with residents who said they didn't oppose the building of the mosque, but the man behind it. After the proposal passed, the debate continued with residents frustrated their voices weren't heard.
Much of the opposition comes from Bangash's writings in a publication known as Crescent International, which has a Markham office and advocates for an Iranian-inspired regime in Muslim countries.
"Muslims must strive to overthrow the oppressive systems in their societies through Islamic revolutions, and not by participating in fraudulent elections organized by the elites operating through various political parties that actually divide the people," he wrote in a July 2005 column in the newsmagazine.
"And they must keep well away from the U.S., the greediest, most exploitative, most manipulative, most hypocritical and most ruthless power that the world has ever known."
Bangash dismisses the concerns of the Newmarket mosque as Islamophobia and says people have taken his political comments out of context.
"There have been all sorts of allegations against me and you know I find that so offensive quite honestly," he said in an interview yesterday. He pointed to the reputation of his Richmond Hill mosque as one of the "most inclusive centres in Canada."
"We went out of our way to contact the neighbours, contact the churches, Jewish groups, all kinds of people. We have invited to this centre United Church ministers to come and speak, Mennonite pastors to come and speak."
For some there's a temptation now to ridicule the debate, likening it to the CBC's hit show Little Mosque on the Prairie, a comedic portrayal of a Muslim community in a fictional prairie town and its residents trying to come to terms with each other's misunderstandings.
But others say community leaders and politicians, out of fear of being branded racist, often overlook the influence of those who support regimes whose values they say are contrary to Canada's democratic ones.
"By permitting a known Islamist to literally monopolize the Muslim narrative, you're shutting out modern, secular Muslims from having a say," says Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress who is writing a book on the influence of Islamists in Canada.
Fatah claimed that Bangash is the "unofficial spokesperson for the Iranian regime in Canada."
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"This is a storm in a teacup as they say," he said as he sat in his office. "I stand by my political views but I don't express them in the mosque. If anyone has any concerns with my views I'm more than happy to sit down and debate them with them."
Pertinent Links:
1) York mosque wins approval
2) Islamic leader's views under fire
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
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