Stories about Islam and the West:
I'll stick with the space lizards
Incidentally, although they characterize themselves as the "complainants" in these suits, they're not. In the two "human rights" complaints against Maclean's that are going forward, the complainants in British Columbia are Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, and Naiyer Habib, and, in the federal case, Dr. Elmasry alone. Mohamed Elmasry is the man who announced on Canadian TV that he approved of the murder of any and all Israeli civilians over the age of 18. One can understand why such an unlikely poster boy for the cause of "anti-hate" campaigns would prefer to hide behind his fresh-faced Osgoode sock puppets. But the fact that every major newspaper in Canada has opened its pages to turgid recitations of imagined victimhood by three students who have no standing in these cases tells you everything about how "excluded" and "marginalized" they are.
Mark Steyn, Maclean's, March
Expert calls Toronto 18 'jihadi wannabes'
What was billed as Canada's biggest alleged homegrown Islamic terrorist cell appears to be a hapless bunch of loose-lipped "jihadi wannabes," says an advisor to the federal government on terrorism and national security. David Charters, an expert on modern warfare, terrorism and member of the Advisory Council on National Security to the Cabinet, says what initially appeared to be a frightening plot to bomb Toronto landmarks and storm the Parliament buildings by a group dubbed the "Toronto 18," appears to be something far less sinister.
National Post, March 7
Teens with troubles get Islamic line
Young callers bring usual dating and curfew woes to Canada-wide hotline espousing Muslim values
Toronto Star, March 8
Calgary Muslim praises police action over 'chilling threats' posted online
A Calgary Muslim leader is thankful members of the Calgary Police Service are pursuing anonymous Internet users who posted what he called "chilling threats" on an Alberta-based website. Syed Soharwardy, president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, complained in December that the police were ignoring his concerns about postings on the Western Standard website, the online version of the right-wing magazine that went out of business last fall.
Globe and Mail, March 9
Olympic terror plot foiled, Beijing says
Incidents in Muslim region fuel fears of attack ahead of Games
Globe and Mail, March 10
Earlier: Stories about Islam, shariah law, and the West
Other stories from the past week:
Glitches hamper Oprah's webcast with B.C. author
The marketing magic of Oprah Winfrey and the promise of inner awakening by Vancouver spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle led to more than 500,000 people experiencing an online meltdown this week.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, March 7
Earlier: Stories about the Vancouver-based Oprah Book Club author
Ready to reclaim our divinity
On Feb. 21, 2008, Procter and Gamble announced the biggest ad campaign in history for razor blades for women to promote a new Gillette five-blade razor, the Venus Embrace. As reported by the New York Times, the campaign "plays on Venus being the Roman goddess of love, but recasts women as deities in contemporary settings."
Anne Baird, Vancouver Sun, March 7
Breakaway St. Chad's will have service
A week after locking the doors of St. Chad's Anglican Church to all parishioners, the Toronto diocese will hold services tomorrow morning at the church, which last month narrowly voted to split from mainstream Anglicanism in a dispute over same sex marriage blessings.
Toronto Star, March 8
Earlier: Stories about the Anglican schism over same-sex blessings
Evangelicals shift toward mainstream concerns
It may be time for liberals to take an evangelical to lunch. There are signs the table talk would no longer be dominated by clashes over abortion, homosexuality and the leadership of Stephen Harper and George W. Bush. Recent trends suggest evangelicals -- who are key to the U.S. presidential race and influential in Canadian politics -- are becoming less single-minded and more drawn to issues once pressed by liberals.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, March 8
Earlier: Faith surfacing in new ways in U.S. election campaign
The Confessions of St. Augustine
Still good for the soul
Randy Boyagoda, Globe and Mail, March 8
A quantum of sex-ed proposals
Much of the free publicity -- the movie opens next month -- is courtesy of Christian evangelist Charles McVety, pictured. McVety exerts influence on the current government, backbench to front. He has lobbied all the way to the Prime Minister's Office. Now an item of legislation would cancel tax credits for Canadian movies depicting sexual acts that have no educational purpose. Such a law would encourage filmmakers to enhance the tutorial utility of their sex scenes.
Kevin Baker, National Post, March 8
Earlier: Stories about Charles McVety and the tax credit for Canadian films
Policy
Can a mantra be unspoken? For the purposes of this column I will argue, Yes. But the argument may strike any post-Christian reader as arcane.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, March 9
Shoots first, saves later
Before embarking on missions in East Africa, Pastor Sam Childers and the soldiers who accompany him join hands and pray. Following that, they drive through the bush, armed with rifles, AK-47s and machine guns -- Mr. Childers with a pistol in his belt and sometimes a rifle in his lap -- seeking to rescue children who have been abducted or orphaned in Uganda and Sudan. The Pennsylvania pastor and his militia have been ambushed and bombed; they responded by engaging in intense gun battles. As a result, his critics have called him a "Christian mercenary." "I always like to fight," said Mr. Childers, a self-described former biker and drug dealer. "I'm a preacher, but I still like a fight."
National Post, March 12
Private school director's explicit poems draw fire
In the latest ethical clash between schools and the Internet, a private Jewish school is reviewing samples of sexual and at times violent poetry written by its director -- and posted on his website -- after some parents complained the content is inappropriate for an educator.
Toronto Star, March 12
Church reels at armless hero's fall from grace
Jose Prado-Carmona, a charity worker who inspired west-end congregation, asks for forgiveness after airport search finds heroin
Toronto Star, March 13
March 13/2008
