MUSLIM WOMAN AT THE BEACH ASKED TO DISROBE
Rabbi Michael Whitman

Police forcing women at the beach to disrobe is just the latest assault on respect and common sense, in the name of secularism. Muslim women who wish to remain modestly covered while enjoying themselves at the beach in France have been targeted by municipal laws throughout France in the last few weeks. The fact that these laws have been overruled by French courts is of little comfort, as popular sentiment against these women has been unleashed in particularly venomous ways, and presidential …

A BALM IN GILEAD
Rabbi Michael Whitman

The words of Zijad and John are a soothing balm to the Jewish soul, and to all humanity. I appreciate and respect Zijad’s statement even as I deplore the reasons it is necessary. I echo John’s words, “We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion.”
 
Jews, like everyone else, prefer pointing fingers at others rather than at ourselves. Yes, there is war and violence in Jewish history. And even though for more than 3000 years …

A RESPONSE TO MY BROTHER IMAM ON VIOLENCE AND PEACE

My dear brother Zijad. I wish to express my appreciation for your candid and courageous condemnation of terrorism and of terrorists who dare to use Islam as an excuse to act with violence and allow violence to be in the extreme, without any limits. Islam is a religion of peace, as you express it so emphatically, relying on your intellectual tradition and legal expertise. Why is it that non-Muslims have difficulty accepting what you say? Is it the media? Perhaps. Is …

AARON DRIVER DOESN’T SPEAK FOR MY ISLAM
Abridged from an article in The Ottawa Citizen August 23, 2016
Imam Dr. Zijad Delic

Aaron Driver does not speak in my name, the name of my community and my faith, Islam. His views are strange, illogical, unethical, dangerous and contradict all what I know about my faith and my community. As a Canadian Muslim and a spiritual leader of the Canadian Muslim community, I pledge here and now to stand firm against the evil of terrorism and terrorists. I also applaud the efforts of the …

CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM: AN EVOLVING COURSE
Imam Dr. Zijad Delic

Canada officially defines itself as a multicultural state in the sense that it not only accepts but also welcomes people of multiple ethnic origins, respects minority religions and cultures, and provides a constitutional commitment to support their aspirations, rights and freedoms. Issues around acceptance of diversity have been central to Canada’s history. In fact, Canada’s present and future stability, prosperity and survival depend on it.
What we know empirically about the development and evolution of multiculturalism in Canada, suggests that the history of multiculturalism …