Khurrum Among the Riff-Raff

It was billed as an examination of the "media war" being waged against Islam, but as Joseph Brean reports in the National Post, it turns out to have been part of the P.R. jihad being waged by Iran. As such, it was even too "controversial" (or too Shia, or too nutty, or too déclassé) for the likes of Section 13 proponent Khurrum Awan, who bowed out at the last minute:

Stouffville, Ont. -- Western media have a "spiteful policy" toward Iran of inventing "fraudulent" news to "increase false national expectation" and "encourage disturbance," according to the cultural attaché in the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Hamid Mohammadi said media deception has caused hatred and fear of Muslims by presenting the "false belief that religion is incapable of running a country" and that Iran is therefore illegitimate. He said the result has been political "position changing" by Western countries against Muslims. He quoted an "American thinker," whose name did not come clearly through his strong accent, to the effect that "future wars are in the hands of the media, and their words are more effective than bullets."

Somehow, his brief remarks were among the least controversial at a conference about the "Media War on Islam" on Sunday at a Toronto-area Islamic centre, in which the Christmas Day underwear bomber was described as the tool of an Israeli plot; Barack Obama was referred to as "Mr. Black Man"; al-Qaeda was called "the figment of the imagination of the West"; and a video was shown that mocked 9/11 by putting the Muppet Show logo over slow-motion footage of the second plane's impact, with screams of terror for audio.

With a police presence and protesters outside, the atmosphere was too hot for some of the speakers advertised in promotional material.

Lawyer Khurrum Awan, who brought hate speech complaints against Maclean's magazine with the Canadian Islamic Congress, agreed to speak some time ago, and called it "an error on my part" that he only learned about the other speakers a couple of days before the event. He said he cancelled primarily for fear that his presence could seem to justify the actions of the government of Iran, including its hosting of a 2006 conference on Holocaust denial...

It must have been most distressing for Mr. Awan, who is accustomed to the more refined company of Canada's legal and "human rights"/multiculti communities (which often tend to overlap) to have found himself associated with this rabble. No wonder he decided to detach himself from the cranks, crackpots, Jew-haters and other nutters who turned up. It is somewhat amusing, however, to learn that he of all people was almost suckered by the Shias.

One more thought: even though it sounds like there was plenty of the kind of hatred that Ontario's Thought Cop-in-Chief has made it her mission to excise from our body politic, you can be sure that no one who spoke at the event will have to answer for their "hate speech" in a court of law or to a "human rights" commissar. Had it been, say, a White Power sort of event, however, no doubt there would have been charges galore.

Update: This one--a real oldie--came to me in the shower:

I'm be by to get you in my hybrid, honey.
Better be ready when I get there.
Now, dearie, be aware
I want to get there when the cranks start spewing.
Just remember when we get there, honey,
"Allahu Akbar!" is the thing to drawl.
We're gonna raise a lot of Hell
And then we'll all trash Is-ra-el.
Valentine's Day night at the
Stouffville nutters' hall.