No, Not All Canadian Muslims, Just 84,000 Of Them
That's the number, based on a poll, who think it's justifiable to behead the prime minister and blow up parliament and the CBC. Good piece, criticizing poor reporting of statistics by the CBC, in a Calgary Sun piece by Licia Corbella:
Apparently "more than 80% of Canada's roughly 700,000 Muslims are broadly satisfied with their lives here."That's a nice and cuddly kind of story, but hardly surprising. I've been to Afghanistan -- where many of Canada's latest Muslim population comes from -- and even the upper-middle class in Afghanistan live in difficult conditions. I stayed in Kabul's only five-star hotel in December 2003 where hot water was available one-to-two hours a day, electricity was sporadic and my lovely room was utterly freezing.
Poor and middle-class Afghans -- the vast majority -- have no running water, no heat, no electricity and most are totally illiterate to boot.
They are handsome hospitable people -- and extremely resourceful -- but Canada's homeless shelters would look like luxury to your average Afghan refugee. But I digress.
Waaaay down in the online CBC story about this poll is the news that when "asked about the arrests last summer of the 18 Muslim men and boys who were allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in southern Ontario, 73% of Muslim respondents said these attacks were not at all justified." That portion of the poll ended there. No more details. Why? The Environics website made no mention about this portion of the poll either.
However, on CBC's The National television program on the same day, this part of the poll was fleshed-out and the results are alarming.
Fully 12% of Muslim Canadians polled by Environics said the alleged terrorist plot -- that included kidnapping and beheading the prime minister and blowing up Parliament and the CBC -- was justified.
Predictably, the CBC managed to find a talking head -- in this case York University sociology professor Haideh Moghissi -- who dismissed this disturbing revelation.
"It's really negligible that 12 percent feel that the attacks would be justified," said Moghissi. "I don't think it even warrants attention."
Clearly, other news agencies and those who put the poll results on the CBC website agree with Moghissi.
But just how "negligible" is 12% of 700,000 people.
Well, if Moghissi knew arithmetic like she knows denial, she'd know if this poll is accurate, 84,000 Canadian Muslims think it's justifiable to behead our democratically elected prime minister and blow up the very symbol and centre of our democracy!
via Jihadwatch
Posted by aalkon at February 21, 2007 11:25 AM
Comments
I notice the dissatisfied never actually leave. Canada is not North Korea; they are free to go.
The hypocrisy of these surveys is overwhelming. Nobody would dare publish the results of a poll asking Americans what we think about muslim immigrants who want sharia law.
Posted by: MarkD at February 21, 2007 9:07 AM
I, for one, am against them.
Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 21, 2007 9:10 AM
Twelve percent can be pretty significant. There is a general social science rule that 5% of a cohort is the opinion forming part, so one has to wonder where on this scale these 12 percenters live.
Posted by: doombuggy at February 21, 2007 9:56 AM
There is a general social science rule that 5% of a cohort is the opinion forming part, so one has to wonder where on this scale these 12 percenters live.
Well, they wouldn't appear to be the 5 percenters, since their view is solidly in the minority.
Of course, that's the problem with terrorist tactics. They don't require any sort of consensus. The 12 percenters, alone, are sufficient to pull of an attack of some sort.
Posted by: justin case at February 21, 2007 12:23 PM
That's the problem, and that's why it's unacceptable for "moderate Muslims" to sit on their asses or deny there's a problem and insist the rest of us are just mean for suggesting it.
Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 21, 2007 1:09 PM
"That's the problem, and that's why it's unacceptable for "moderate Muslims" to sit on their asses or deny there's a problem..."
I'm not sure if their complacency is the result of their background, growing up with fanatics and becoming inured to the cacophony, or if the silent majority supports some of the terrorist anti-secular goals. Much like moderate Christians supporting the display of the Nativity on public property but not the teaching of ‘Intelligent Design’ in the classroom. Unfortunately, the consequences of the former are deadly, while the latter should spur good conversation with your children.
Posted by: Mike Manges at February 21, 2007 1:57 PM
Much like moderate Christians supporting the display of the Nativity on public property but not the teaching of ‘Intelligent Design’ in the classroom. Unfortunately, the consequences of the former are deadly, while the latter should spur good conversation with your children.
I don't believe in god (of course - there's no evidence god exists), and while I am firmly against religious symbols on government property or unscientific idiocy taught in schools, the fact that a significant number of Muslims support murder in the name of their religion is the greatest existing danger to our freedoms and way of life...and is in urgent need of publicizing.
Posted by: Amy Alkon at February 21, 2007 2:14 PM
I'd like to know more about that 12% -- their age and gender, for starters. I supported terrorism (in theory) when I was a angry young man. I'm very much against it, now that I'm almost 45. I bet my support will drop even more after I have my sex change operation.
Posted by: Lena at February 21, 2007 7:13 PM
They actually were considering allowing sharia law in Canada, but there was such a large protest by mostly women in a lot of different countries, that they decided not to. One secular law for everyone seems to be the concept in a democracy-please inform any religious people you may know! Actually, Luther (the German one, not the one in the US) came up with the idea of the separation of church and state in I think it was the 1600s, so it's not exactly a new idea.
Posted by: Chris at February 24, 2007 8:48 AM
Leave a comment