Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The curious double standard of the Harper government

You may recall that last year George Galloway was refused entry into Canada. Yet look who they just let in to speak:

A 17-year-old Muslim student sparked the testiest exchange and the loudest cheers and jeers at a speech by controversial U.S. conservative Ann Coulter at the University of Western Ontario Monday.

After a wide-ranging speech attacking gay rights activists, the mainstream media and the Barack Obama administration, Coulter took questions from an audience clearly divided in its support for her style of attack conservatism.

Fatima Al-Dhaher, a political science student from London, rose and spoke about comments Coulter made after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The firebrand Republican had suggested Muslim countries be invaded, their leaders killed and all Muslims converted to Christianity. She later suggested Muslims denied air travel take "flying carpets" instead.

"As a 17-year-old student of this university, Muslim, should I be converted to Christianity? Second of all, since I don't have a magic carpet, what other modes do you suggest," Al-Dhaher said to loud and sustained applause.

"I thought it was just American public schools that produced ignorant people," Coulter replied, prompting her own round of applause.

Coulter then noted many Japanese were converted to Christianity after the Second World War and "we haven't heard a peep out of them."

To shouts of "Answer the question," Coulter finally replied, "What mode of transportation? Take a camel."

From the London Free Press. Happily, her planned appearance in Ottawa was later cancelled.

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