A study published last week by Gatestone Institute's Judith Bergman reveals a prevailing atmosphere of denial and avoidance characterizing Canada's relationship with Islam.
Entitled Canada: Obsessed with "Islamophobia", Bergman's report concludes that the current government seems not to believe that Islamic terrorism in Canada even exists. According to the report, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police guide is premised on the belief that radicalization occurs because of perceptions of "injustice", not because of jihad, with Islamic groups not even being mentioned.
"The message is that terrorism is 'diverse' and has nothing to do with Islam," according to the report. "However, Public Safety Canada's list of terrorist entities contains 54 terrorist groups, 46 of which are Islamic terrorist groups.
"While worried about graffiti, Canadian authorities appear far less concerned about deterring Canadian imams from preaching jihad, Jew-hatred, and the murder of Jews to their Muslim congregations, despite Jews being approximately twelve times more likely to be targeted for hate crimes than Muslims are. For anti-Muslim graffiti, you go to jail for five months, but inciting an entire congregation to kill Jewish citizens does not even merit prosecution," Bergman writes.
"Meanwhile, the war on free speech in Canada grinds on: Ottawa Public Library cancelled the screening of 'Killing Europe', a documentary about, ironically, among other things, the death of free speech in Europe. Ottawa Public Library deemed this content not suitable for Canadians -- apparently snowflakes, not allowed to know about the rise of migrant rape crime, anti-Semitism, far-leftist violence and other irritants in Europe," the study says.
Canada's population numbers 36 million people, with approximately 330,000 Jews and slightly more than 1,000,000 Muslims.
Bergman writes, "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently labelled a question about putting returning ISIS jihadists in jail from Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer, part of a pattern of 'Islamophobia'. (How can that be, if ISIS supposedly has 'nothing to do with Islam'?)
"Trudeau said that Canada needed to ensure that resources would be 'in place to facilitate disengagement from violent ideologies, in particular [for] children who return from conflict zones [and] require tailored solutions... we're also there to help them to let go of that terrorist ideology.'
"'The Prime Minister,' said Scheer during the debate, 'is using a broad spectrum that includes poetry and podcasts, and all kinds of counselling and group hug sessions. When,' he asked, 'will the Prime Minister take the security of Canadians seriously and look for ways to put these ISIS fighters in jail?'
"Trudeau's response was to accuse Scheer of Islamophobia:
"'Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party... ran an election on snitch lines against Muslims, they ran an election on Islamophobia and division, and still they play the same games, trying to scare Canadians... They play the politics of fear, and Canadians reject that.'"