ISNA's Ingrid 'A Voice For Tolerance and Diversity'?

The head of Huron College defends his "hire":

Re: Taking A Closer Look At Islam, Barbara Kay, Oct. 18.

I was disappointed to read Barbara Kay's column about the appointment of Ingrid Mattson as the inaugural London and Windsor community chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College.

I was dismayed that Ms. Kay based her central argument on the alleged experience of one student. To assert that this student's experience was representative of the thousands taught by Ms. Mattson is absurd. Moreover, using it as the basis to support further criticism of Ms. Mattson underscores the weak basis on which her opinion is founded.

In her spurious linking of the Islamic Society of North America and, by association, Ms. Mattson to terrorism, Ms. Kay fails to mention that Ms. Mattson was an advisor to both the Bush and Obama administrations and spoke at President Barack Obama's inaugural prayer service. As John Brennan, the U.S. Advisor for Homeland Security noted, Ms. Mattson, is "a voice for tolerance and diversity" on whom he has relied on her for advice. Ms. Kay also incorrectly asserts that Ms. Mattson supports Wahhabism. When she discusses Wahhabism, Ms. Mattson does so as an academic and a scholar of religion. She has preached in synagogues and churches across North America and has been the female leader of an Islamic organization - two things a Wahhabi could never support.

Finally, with respect to Ms. Mattson's alleged support of Maulana Abul A'la Maududi: If Ms. Kay had taken the time to read Ms. Mattson's book on the Koran, she would know that Ms. Mattson finds his Koran commentary troubling in a number of respects and does not recommend it.

Stephen McClatchie, principal, Huron University College, London, Ont.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism isn't as enamoured of Ingrid as McClatchie and Barack Obama (who invited her to participate in his Inauguration) are. In an examination of her work and words, it concludes

As a leader of a major Muslim organization in America, Mattson's refusal to acknowledge the existence of radical Islamists in the United States, and her avoidance of criticism of international terrorists, is very troubling.

She will sound a note of moderation to the public, as she has assiduously done for years, while secretly harboring and championing a radical agenda that supports Wahhabism, supports terrorists, denies the existence of Islamic extremism and blames the West for the rise of terrorists like Osama bin Laden. Is that who the Obama Administration really wants to set as an example for the rest of the country?

Sadly, it's exactly who the Obama Administration wants—and who Huron wants, too.That doesn't mean, however, that such astoundingly bad choices should be above criticism and beyond reproach.

Update: According to this, Mattson's seat at Huron has been bought and paid for by Islamists:

Her new perch at HUC was funded in part by organizations with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood: the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT). In 2008, Temple University declined a $1.5 million gift from IIIT to endow a chair in Islamic studies, citing ongoing federal investigation of IIIT's possible involvement in funding Palestinian terrorists. To make matters worse for HUC, the chair also involved the Islamic Centre for Southwestern Ontario -- an organization with ties to a Libyan-based charity of now-deposed dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

As reported by the Ottowa (sic) Citizen on May 7, 2011, the Islamic Centre's head, Assem Fadel, also led the Libya-based World Islamic Call Society (WICS), whose charitable status was revoked by the Canadian government this spring after it determined that a Libyan charity sent money to the private bank account of WICS's head -- the same Assem Fadel. Fadel then transferred the money to WICS, from which it was sent to terrorist organizations outside Canada.

The letter's writers stated the problem succinctly:

Here we have a clear and indisputable link between Qaddafi-sponsored terrorist related activities involving the president of the Islamic Centre of Southwestern Ontario, a funding organisation of the chair in Islamic Studies.

In an April letter signed by twenty-six "alumni, friends, and faculty" of HUC, then-interim-principal (president) Trish Fulton was alerted to the radical nature of the chair's supporters, including the Muslim Association of Canada's boasts on its website that it seeks to practice Islam according to "the approach of Imam Hassan Al-Banna [who] best exemplifies [a] balanced, comprehensive understanding of Islam." Al-Banna was the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, the inspiration of many contemporary radical Islamist groups, and its motto is: "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qu'ran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."

Fulton dismissed these objections in a telephone conversation with Barbara Kay in May:

To my [Kay's] question of whether she felt the beliefs and principles of MAC and IIIT were 'compatible with [Huron's] values,' I received a prompt and firm 'yes.' Dr. Fulton elaborated: 'We don't probe deeply into values held by donors.' Huron, she said, is 'concerned about the legitimacy and the civic presence' of donors, but 'not the views they may hold on a wide variety of cultural issues.' In Dr. Fulton's view, it is only a group's 'actions' that would 'compromise the academic pursuit.'

Fulton's successor, Stephen McClatchie, took over HUC July 1, 2011. In the press release announcing Mattson's appointment, McClatchie enthused, "Mattson brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and expertise to this area of study and Huron is privileged to have a scholar of her calibre." He said that HUC is "honoured" that she accepted their offer.

It's likely that the financial supporters of Mattson's chair, with their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Qaddafi regime, are equally honored by the College's eagerness to do their bidding. After all, they got exactly what they paid for. 

Update: This one--Ingrid Mattson: A Case Study in Stealth Jihad--goes out with hogs and monkeys to Dr. Stephen McClathchie of Huron University College.

Update: Also 4 Steve:

Have you heard about Stephen McClatchie
Whose knowledge of ISNA was patchy?
He went to bat, son,
For Ingrid Mattson
'Cuz her "Allahu Akbar"'s real catchy.