Terrorism in our Midst

First, let me state that I have several Muslim friends and acquaintances and have always found them to be a good, decent people. The vast, VAST majority of Canadian Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding people and have no affiliation with extremist groups. However, this does not preclude that there are fringe, radical elements in the Muslim community that are hostile to the West, to Canada, and to what Canada stands for. And it goes without saying that while most Muslims are not terrorists, most terrorists are Muslim.

The Thursday morning suicide bomings in London were of a most heinous variety, and alerted many complacent Canadians to the very real prospect of terrorism within our borders. But as developments in regards to the perpetrators of the London bombings arise, what is most disconcerting is that the attacks were found to be the work of British-born suicide bombers.

I’ve been scratching my head trying to figure out - what would compel one to kill one’s own fellow citizens in one’s own nation of birth? Where is the loyalty, the patriotism, the devotion to one’s own land of birth? Where is the appreciation to a host society that offered an opportunity for a family to escape ignominious poverty in impoverished rural Pakistan? Admittedly England’s perpetual gray skies can dim one’s outlook on life, but was life in Leeds so wretched? Or are these guys just nutcases that got brainwashed by mullahs?

Moreover, given the attacks in London and the looming prospects of terrorists attacks here in Canada, I am forced to think about the potential for suicide bombings by homegrown Jihadis in Toronto. Will Muslims born in Canada growing up in alienated in the "infidel" secular West likewise succumb to indoctrination and fundamentalist teachings in our mosques and schools, as in Britain? Will this tiny fraction of the population compel us to foresake our cherished civil liberties and dictate our foreign policy? Will we be forever at the mercy and whim of a small population, and live in perpetual fear of terrorist retribution and suicide bombings in our large urban centers?

Unlike the UK where race riots are not uncommon, there is little history of antagonism towards the Muslim population here in Canada. While without doubt earlier minority immigrants of the late 60s & 70s will tell you were subject to racist taunts, these attacks have largely subsided as our nation has become more progressive and tolerant. And as a South Asian that immigrated to Toronto in the early 90s, I cannot recall an instance in which I have encountered racial prejudice.

Undoubtedly the presence of a rapidly growing Muslim population without doubt makes many Canadians a little fearful. Should we continue to believe that the possibility of Canadian-born, homegrown suicide bombers is not likely here in the Great White North – that Muslims born and raised in Canada and grew up educated in our multicultural public schools will embrace Canadian values – pluralism, secularism, tolerance - respect for all cultures, religions and lifestyles, equal rights for women – values Canadians hold sacred? Will they be quick to discard fundamentalist nonsense and enrich our multicultural fabric as groups generations past have?

I believe the best way to combat the prospect of terrorist attacks within our borders is to curb the immigration of culturally incompatible groups. I am not calling for an outright ban, but I think a curtailment of importing people who are hostile to Western tenets is not uncalled for. I am sure that many Canadian Muslims would be sympathetic to and understand the reasons for such a measure. (Though why anyone who hates the West would want to immigrate here escapes me!)

Such a restriction would be far more effective and far less costly to implement than requiring all Canadians to carry biometric National Identity cards - and thereby curbing the freedoms and civil liberties of all Canadians as a result. After all, why is such a measure necessary when it is only a tiny - albeit rapidly growing - fraction of the population that poses a significant threat to our national security?

Canadians have a right to be concerned. It is time for us to wake up – we've seen what has happened in New York and London and the prospect of terrorism in our cities is very real. Thanks to the gross imcompetence of our immigration system, there are over 50 terror cells that operate here – cells that pose a significant threat to the safety and security of Canadians. We have been complacent far too long. Why? Because we don’t want to offend groups sympathetic to the Liberal Party? Because we don't want to be accused of racism or racial profiling?

National security must come before political correctness.

Morevoer, the loss in immigrants from the Muslim world can be more than compensated for by immigrants from India, China, Eastern Europe, Latin Ameria, and sub-Saharan Africa - groups that integrate well and pose little threat to national security.

What must be understood is that such an revamping of immigration policy is not being implemented out of racism, but for the sake of national security. We want productive citizens who will make good Canadians, not terrorists or those who sympathize with terrorists.

Our society has a duty to put the safety and security of Canadians foremost.