Elmo: Man of Influence

Mohamed Elmasry--yes, our very own Elmo, the former Canadian Islamic Congress supremo who one opined that all adult Jews in Israel are fair game for shahids, and who hid behind some young, telegenic sockies when he tried to get Maclean's and Mark Steyn hew to the sharia understanding of "free speech" (which, as it happens, is not all that far off from Section 13, the state censorship component of our federal "human rights" act)--has been "honoured" as one of the "500 Most Influential Muslims" on the planet. Here's how his home base these days, Islamolefty online rag the Canadian Charger, describes the achievement: 

Those close to Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, founding member of the Canadian Charger’s editorial board and professor emeritus of computer engineering at the University of Waterloo, have often heard him say that he wants to do more than earn a living: He wants to make a difference.

Now, appearing in a Georgetown University publication entitled “The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World” is a clear indication that he has made a difference.

Prof. Elmasry was selected for his scholarly work in microchip design and many leadership roles including being the founding president of the Canadian Islamic Congress and Islamic History Month Canada and founding editor of islamnow.com and thecanadiancharger.com

During his academic career, Dr. Elmasry has supervised the research work of more than 1,000 doctoral and master's candidates and undergraduate students, including RIM (BlackBerry) co-founder Mike Lazaridis.

Audiences have heard his lectures on Islam, as well as on microchip design, in more than 40 countries -- including China, Japan, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia, the former USSR, the Arab world, Europe, United States and Canada.

Born in Cairo, Egypt, he has continued to work in the area of microchip design for the last 40 years.

This year’s volume of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World is edited by Profs John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin...

Elmo may rank well down in the list, but surely Prof. John Esposito must rank in the top two Western apologists for Islam on the planet. Which rather makes Elmo's "honour" pale by comparison.