On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Prime Minister Stephen Harper characterized “Islamicism” as the main security threat to Canada. Last week, he labelled Iran “as the world’s most serious threat to international peace and security.”
In the first instance, Harper deliberately contributed to Islamophobia, the fear of Muslims and of Islam, which is the intellectual underpinning of the continuing U.S. “war on terror.” Only a few weeks after Harper’s September remarks, there was a deliberate targeting by racists of Hamilton’s Downtown Mosque. Coincidence? I think not.
Now labelling Iran as the main threat to world peace, Harper is seeking to prepare Canadians for a role in a possible U.S., NATO, or Israeli attack on Iran. His government recently placed the frigate HMCS Charlottetown on station in the region.
However, nothing Harper said about Iran is true. I visited Iran in October for an international conference on Palestine, as a guest of the Iranian government. Iran lives in peace with its neighbours and, unlike the U.S., hasn’t attacked any country in over 200 years. It is developing nuclear energy to produce electricity because its oil reserves will run out in 20 years. Iran has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT) and is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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