Ottawa Imam gets visa
Posted By Marc on April 8, 2010
CBC.ca has just announced that local imam Khaled Abdul-Hamid Syed gets to stay in Canada until the end of his contract with the local, Ottawa mosque is over in 2011. Now, I have never met him, but I do know a bit about the local mosque, and I am glad that he has been granted the visa, especially since he appears to be a decent man and the troubles he has had with Citizenship and Immigration Canada also appear to be the result of an opposing faction (see this report).
From that one report, Syed appears to be a “fundamentalist” in the old sense of the word – someone who believes in the fundamentals of their religion. He does not, however, and this is based on admittedly limited data, appear to be a “radical” (read irhabi).
On a purely personal note, I have no problems with fundamentalists of any stripe. In general, and I believe that this is borne out in the historic record, fundamentalists who actually know and practice the fundamentals of their religions have a tendency not to try and impose their beliefs on others, especially through violence. It is (usually) only “fundamentalists” (in the totally pejorative sense) who neither know not practice the fundamentals of their religion who do so.
I wish Syed all the best, and I hope that the Ottawa mosque will continue to be able to stand against irhabi pressure while, at the same time, maintaining their faith. There are many good people who attend that mosque, and I would hate to see it fall under the shadow of darkness and hate.
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Well said.