An Islamic preacher who was banned from Britain earlier this year has now been barred from entering Canada for a planned countrywide speaking tour.
The preacher, Sheik Uthman ibn Farooq, was prohibited from entering the U.K. by the British government in May after it was reported he had said it would be permitted under Islamic law to have sex with females taken as captives in war.
Mr. Farooq was due to carry out a Canadian tour this month, with events in Toronto on Friday and Hamilton on Saturday, as well as appearances in Winnipeg, Calgary and Halifax.
But Penny Appeal Canada, the organizer of the speaking engagements, posted an update on a ticketing website, saying that “Shaykh Uthman was denied entry into Canada” but would be joining virtually, describing the development as “an unexpected turn of events.”
The sheik posted a video on social media about his ban from entering Canada for the speaking tour, calling it an Islamophobic attempt to stop the truth.
“I don’t preach hate,” he said, adding that the aim of his lectures would have been “spiritual awakening” and making young people productive citizens of Canada. He was barred from entering the country, according to immigration paperwork he tore up on camera, on grounds of involvement in a criminal organization.
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He said, however, that he had no criminal record and was not a member of a criminal organization. He said he had been involved in gangs as a 12-year-old, but not as an adult.
The office of Immigration Minister Lena Diab declined to comment, saying it did not discuss individual cases.
Jeffrey MacDonald, spokesman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said in an e-mail: “Entry to Canada may be refused for a number of reasons, including concerns related to security, human or international rights violations, or criminal activity.”
On Monday, Bloc Québécois MP Christine Normandin asked the government in the House of Commons to stop Mr. Farooq’s speaking tour from taking place in Canada, saying he had made homophobic, antisemitic and misogynistic remarks.
L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) cancelled a planned student-run event with the preacher on Thursday.
“The event, which violated UQAM’s values, was not authorized by our university. Consequently, it has been cancelled,” spokesperson Jenny Desrochers said.
The sheik was outlawed from entering Britain by the U.K. government after The Daily Telegraph reported on his remarks about female slaves.
In a YouTube video, Mr. Farooq, who is based in California, was asked why “intimacy” with a slave was lawful and not considered adulterous, when it would be adulterous with a non-slave.
Mr. Farooq replied: “Allah made [it] that those people taken under a war as captives, who were trying to kill you, [whom] you’re now going to support and keep in your house and spend [money] on and treat well, that [they are] like a wife.
“This is somebody who you can have those relationships with. So if Allah made it halal [lawful], then it’s not sinning, that is not adultery because Allah made it.”
In the Commons this week, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet welcomed a decision by UQAM to cancel the planned event with the preacher. But he said Mr. Farooq would still be able to “foment hatred legally in Canada.”
”Why will he be able to do that? Because he legally has the right to do so,” Mr. Blanchet said. “Will the government eliminate the religious exemption from the Criminal Code?”
Mr. Blanchet said his party plans to table an amendment to the government’s Combatting Hate bill to stop religion from being used as a defence for hate speech.
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The proposed change to the Criminal Code would abolish a defence allowing a person who incites hatred to escape prosecution if their words are based on religious beliefs or a religious text.
Canadian Identity Minister Steven Guilbeault replied that the Liberals shared the Bloc’s aim to combat hatred and would welcome amendments to the bill.
“We will hear from experts, subject-matter experts, and are willing to work with the Bloc Québécois, with all parties in this House to ensure that hate speech is not in Canada,” he replied.
Jeremy Bellefeuille, spokesperson for Justice Minister Sean Fraser, said in a text message that the minister “is open to hearing expert testimony in committee.”
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Members of the LGBTQ community have also called for the religious defence for hate speech to be removed.
LGBTQ advocate Gemma Hickey said in a text message: “Our laws must protect everyone equally: Religious belief deserves respect, but it cannot be permitted to override the dignity, rights, and safety of others.”
Mx. Hickey, who is also president of the international organization Ending Clergy Abuse, had an hour-long private meeting with the Pope in the Vatican on Monday about historical abuse by Catholic priests.
Bernie Farber, a founder of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said religious texts are too often “wielded not as instruments of faith or moral guidance, but as sticks to vilify and demean other communities.”