For the awful people at Chapters who were so keen to label me a racist that they didn't bother to wait for written statements and didn't take up my suggestion to talk to independent witnesses or get sworn affidavits from independent witnesses, I have news for you:   I actually have Muslim friends!   And I have had these Muslim friends for many years!   

I have something else to explain to the naive liberal do-gooders who can't wait to placate extremists:   Islam is not a monolithic community and you ought to do some research so that you can understand who is moderate, who is extremist, who can be believed, and who should not be touched with a ten foot pole.

Because if you do not support moderates and you simply empower extremists, do not blame the Muslim community;  you might as well blame yourself!   But taking responsibilty for ones own actions seems to be a lost art.   So Chapters closes ranks and decides like the most morally contemptible corporations that their "public relations" image is more important than people's lives and reputations.

I am not a Johnny-come-lately to the position that moderate Muslims shoud be supported - read chapter 3 of my book Second Generation Radical:

http://www.equipmentsearch.com/webeditor/static/2/32/5832/documents/newchapter3.pdf

In that chapter, i position myself squarely in one of the two camps of contemporary thought on the nature of problems of violence afflicting parts of the Muslim world.  Some like Robert Spencer argue that there is something inherent is the Koran and other religious writings of Islam that is intolerant, jihadist and promotes violence.  Others like Daniel Pipes argue that Militant Islam is the problem and Moderate Islam is the solution.   I, as clearly shown by Chapter 3 of the book, am squarely in Dr. Pipes camp on this.

As I explain in the book, one of the main reasons that I take this position, is that I, (unlike some of the people who are prepared to let me be shunned and perhaps worse due to the spurious charge of "racism") actually have Muslim friends who are good people.

This brings me to the wonderful time I had this afternoon talking at length to two great ladies, who I have wriiten about previously in the chapter of my book referred to.

Gehan Sabry is the owner of a printing company, the editor and publisher of Cross Cultures Magazine, for which I wrote many articles, and an activist for good race relations.   She is in my opinion a terrific person and role model for good Canadian citizenship.   She happens to be a secular Muslim, but she is very much a Muslim.

Hendy Lawendy is a religious Muslim, and wears a hijab and long dark dresses to the floor.   She is also a great person.  Her late husband, Shokry, was one of my favorite clients, and when he came to my law office late in the afternoon, and was running out of time to say his afternoon prayers, he was always welcome to do the prayers in my spare office.   Their daughter did a high school "job shadow" project in my office and followed me around the Land Registry Office and the Courts.   Shokry and Hend had six children, and now two are teachers, one is an orthopedic surgeon, one is in graduate school, one is a stay at home mum married to a professor, and one is finishing optometry.  Hend carries on running the restaurant on her own, and has put all these children through university.

I asked to meet with them this afternoon, and told them I needed their advice on something.   That something is the pending trial against Chapters, Al-Halimi and Wahdan and Khedr.

People might not understand this but I do not blame the woman-child who at 18 years old made up the stupid accusation against me, and issued a rambling statement about what she thinks I think of her because she wears a hijav and has brown skin and how i must think she is a terrorist, and that what i must think of her is "racism at its worst".   One feels sorry for her, because somebody has brainwashed her, somebody has induced her to think it is heroic and to the glory of her religion to make these kind of accusations, just because somebody has written a novel that she might not agree with.   Likewise I feel sorry for the poor young woman or whoever it was in her household who did the email alleging that I said all Arabs and Muslims deserve to die.   These people are to be pitied, and I hope that someone can help them to mature and realize that this is not proper Canadian citizenship.  Our best traditions are to talk in friendship, accept certain basic rights for everyone, and agree to disagree on things political, and such disagreements are an everyday thing.

I told Gehan and Hend that the real culprit here is the corrupted corporate philosophy of Chapters.   The public relations director who rushed out such a despicable press release (praising her store staff for its great job and blaming me as a racist) was not just wrong in all respects but morally contemptible.  You see the store staff did a horrible job. In fact they did just about everything wrong.

The manager introduced me, then walked away, leaving no employee in charge of the event.  No one was there to protect the guest author when hecklers decided not to let me speak.  The one employee who was there, Al-Halimi, just stood by, smirking, and did not attempt to resolve the situation, or at the very least call the manager or assistant manager. Then when the manager did come, he ushered me, when i was in a state of shock, to his office, closed the door and virtually "imprisoned" me, while the police came and released the trouble makers even before bothering to talk to me.   So the store mishandled every aspect of the event.  But the corporate philosophy is to protect the store image at all costs, even if the cost is to slander a reputable local man, who has given and given to the local community, 20 years as a practicing lawyer, years spent in voluntary organizations, years spent as a pioneer developer of affordable rental housing for the working poor in renovated heritage buildings, and  an award winner from the City.

Back to Hend and Gehan.   When I told them my story, they were shocked and also wondered why they had never heard of my problems.  You see, at the time of the incident I had moved away from Kitchener-Waterloo, so I was not in regular contact with them.

Gehan and Hend came up with a great idea.   Why should everything have to solved by confrontation and court trials.   Would I like it if they tried to find the individual defendants and made an effort to mediate?

I said that would be wonderful, because my goal is not to make an example of these individuals, if they would just see the error of their ways and retract their allegations.  The bigger problem, in my view, is the process of complicity and even encouragement of extremist actions by certain media, corporations and institutions, including our universities.   My biggest concern in this trial is what the actions of Chapters mean for the future of this country and my children and grandchildren.

So, I told them that the offer had to be made through the lawyers.    But I think it is a wonderful offer. And the fact that these two women, so different one to the other, but both fine Canadian businesswomen and citizens, are willing to try to help is a lesson to all of us.   The problem is extremist Islamism, or what we call Militant Islam.  The solution is working with fine moderate Muslims, religious or secular, who share the goal of creating a Canada of good will, high standards of community involvement, friendship, and caring so that everything good about Canada continues.  To the corporate executives who mouth the words "tolerance" to hide the vile work they do to protect their image at the expense of Canadian values, you could learn something from Hend and Gehan.