Faisal Kutty - Iqra.ca

National security framework needs major overhaul

By Faisal Kutty Over the next few weeks, rights groups, lawyers, activists, experts and concerned individuals will all weigh in on how to achieve a National Security framework upholding both security and rights. The problems with the existing framework are too many to canvass here, but there are a few

Canadian Muslims

What we all need to understand about the hajj

By Faisal Kutty “America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem,” wrote Malcolm X more than 50 years ago after his hajj (pilgrimage). The reality is that it’s not just America that needs to understand it. Millions will

Canadian Muslims

No gold medal for human rights at global sports events

By Faisal Kutty Citius. Altius. Fortius. Can’t go wrong with the Olympic motto of striving to be faster, higher and stronger. Unfortunately, international sporting events also have an ugly side, one too often hidden using repression and public relations budgets. Years ago on a visit to India, I came

Canadian Muslims

Persecution of Christians in Middle East is profoundly un-Islamic

By Faisal Kutty “Are you Muslim?” asks a Daesh member to a Christian couple. When the husband answers in the affirmative, the terrorist instructs him to recite from the Quran. The man recites from the Bible. Upon hearing the Arabic, the guard says “Yallah” and motions them through. The man’

Canadian Muslims

The Miseducation of Ontario's New Sex Ed Curriculum

By Faisal Kutty “Have your children tested for STDs,” said a Muslim family doctor during a health session at a Toronto mosque a few years ago. Her message was that unbeknownst to the audience, many of their children were sexually active from an early age. Some parents just

Canadian Muslims

I Am Not a Terrorist, Despite What My Critics Told a Senate Committee

Dear Senators: My name is Faisal Kutty. I am a lawyer, law professor, public speaker and writer. I write in response to testimony to your distinguished Committee on February 23, 2015 by a fear monger well-versed in McCarthyism, Mr. Marc Lebuis. In my opinion, Mr. Lebuis and Pointe de

Bill C-51

Do Canadians know what they just voted for?

(February 25, 2015) – An ill-formed electorate may not be good for democracy but it often works for politicians. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper could not have wished for a more compliant constituency as he prepares for the 2015 elections. An Angus Reid poll last week found that 82 percent

Al Jazeera

#JeSuisConfused

By Faisal Kutty (January 29, 2015) – “I am only trying to make people laugh,” says Dieudonne M’bala M’bala. He was referring to his Facebook update: “Tonight, as far as I am concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly.” The comedian was mixing

Abdalla Idris

High school students get ready to be MISTified

(April 18, 2010) – Muslims high school students in the Greater Toronto Area are gearing up to compete in the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST) to be held on May 21-24 at University of Toronto, St. George Campus. “Over the last three years, MIST has become one of the largest Muslim