Feb. 19, 2007: Bud Talkinghorn

Trying to feel good about a scary poll

Environics and the CBC did a poll on Muslim-Canadian attitudes and how the non-Muslim felt about Muslim issues. Even though the results were quite shocking, the CBC aired some of the results. It related the fact that a majority of the Muslims want sharia law allowed, while 79% of other Canadians do not want to happen. However, the most interesting question concerned the arrest of the 17 Toronto Muslim youths and whether their alleged terrorist plans were justified. 73% said that they were not, while another 13% thought there was a strong or possible reason for the attacks. Than there were the 14% who were not sure whether it was justified or not. Even with the small 500 Muslim sampling it showed that a frightening per centage could not resolutely condemn these mass murderous plans. Can you image your neighbour planning to slaughter all the people at a flea market, yet you being conflicted about whether they should be repudiated?

I don't know why the CBC felt it necessary to warn us of this dangerous disaffection amongst Muslims. If the poll has any validity, then the extrapolation to the larger 600,000 Muslim community is a nightmare scenario. 7% thought the suspects were "completely justified" and another 6% thought it maybe justified. As I know the poll numbers from Britain on the same question, I was not surprised, but I hope the sleep-walking Canadian public might wake up. That English poll showed that the majority of British-Muslims hated their adopted country's culture and an extrapolated number, 16,000 wished they could have participated in the London tube bombings.

One final statistic was that after unemployment, the immigration/refugee system was the Canadian-Muslims' main concern. Persumably they don't think enough of their religious cohort are getting into the country. Typically, they bemoan the "racist" attitudes of government for this.

© Bud Talkinghorn