{"id":6037,"date":"2006-03-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yfiledev.uit.yorku.ca\/2006\/03\/01\/don%e2%80%99t-be-silenced-by-extremists\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T11:58:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:58:05","slug":"dont-be-silenced-by-extremists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2006\/03\/01\/dont-be-silenced-by-extremists\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t be silenced by extremists"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the aftermath of the anti-Muslim Danish cartoons, York political scientists Haideh Moghissi <\/B>and Saeed Rahnema<\/B> penned an op-ed piece published in the Toronto Star <\/I>Feb. 28 with nine other Canadian academics and activists that began: \"A curtain of fear has descended on the intelligentisia of the West, including Canada. The fear of being misunderstood as Islamophobic has sealed their lips, dried their pens and locked their keyboards.\" They said, \"Canadian writers, politicians and media have imposed a frightening censorship on themselves, refusing to speak their minds, thus ensuring that the only voices being heard are that of the Muslim extremists and the racist right.\" <\/P>
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Calling on Canadians to stand up for the hardwon democratic values that the Muslim extremists oppose, the group continued: \"By rejecting the agenda of the extremists, Canada's intelligentsia would be standing shoulder to shoulder with the Muslims and secular individuals from the region who reject both Islamophobia and Islamism. Islamism is not the new revolutionary movement against global forces of oppression, as a section of the left in this country erroneously perceives. \" The writers concluded: \"Our democratic values, including free speech, should not be compromised under the garb of fighting hate. To fight Islamophobia and racism, we do not need to sacrifice free speech and debate.\"<\/P>
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Canada \u2018hypocritical\u2019 to order woman\u2019s deportation<\/STRONG><\/P>
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A failed refugee claimant from Iran who campaigned against the introduction of sharia law in Ontario could face the same gender persecution she fought in Canada if she is forced back to her native country, a Federal Court was told Monday, reported the Toronto Star <\/I>Feb. 28. \"This woman is the latest victim of the fact that Canada has been incredibly hypocritical,\" noted York University sociologist Nandita Sharma<\/STRONG>, founder of the international refugee-advocacy campaign Open the Borders. \"On the one hand saying it supports women who face gender persecution, and on the other hand refusing to grant them [refugee] status in the country. For her to go back to Iran at this time, given her vocal and public opposition to sharia law in Ontario, we are fearful for this woman's rights upon her return to Iran.\" <\/P>
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Canada mulls joint drug reviews with US regulator<\/STRONG><\/P>
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An alliance between Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could have some benefit if it brought useful new drugs to the market sooner, says Dr. Joel Lexchin<\/B>, an emergency physician and professor in York's School of Health Policy & Management, reported the National Post<\/I> Feb. 28. But he warned of possible pitfalls, including coming under the influence of the kind of politics that seemed to affect the FDA's handling of the morning-after contraceptive pill. While agency scientists recommended the pill be available over the counter, the organization, which is controlled by the Bush administration, ruled women would need a prescription. The FDA is so much larger that there is also the risk that Health Canada's influence in the process could diminish greatly, Lexchin said. \"Could Canada retain an independent capacity?\" he asked.<\/P>
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Hearing revealed judge\u2019s personality<\/P><\/B>
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After watching members of Parliament publicly question Supreme Court nominee Marshall Rothstein on Monday, Patrick Monahan<\/B>, dean of York\u2019s Osgoode Hall Law School, told the Ottawa Citizen<\/I>: \"I think it gave us an opportunity to see a little bit about Justice Rothstein. I think it was a very successful first step in this kind of process.\" In a Feb. 28 story picked up by CanWest News Service, Monahan also said he is in favour of the new public hearing system for Supreme Court nominees. Monahan also appeared on TVO\u2019s \"Studio 2\" Feb. 27 to comment on the hearing.<\/P>
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In related news Feb. 28:<\/P>
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