Date: Aug 7th, 2004 - Jamadi Al-thani 20, 1425, Volume: 7 Issue: 0
How the Muslims Won the Election: Islamic Congress Takes Credit for Helping Liberals Fend off Tories
by Gillian Cosgrave - National Post, August 7, 2004
Excerpts:
As the pundits are still noting, the big losers in the federal election were the Liberals, who nearly blew it, and the socialists, whose boastful rhetoric did not garner them nearly as many seats as they expected. The winners were the Bloc Quebecois, big time, and the Conservatives, to a more modest degree.
But there was another, hitherto unacknowledged, winner: Canada's 700,000- member Muslim community, which now ranks as the second-largest religious bloc in Canada after the Christians and is growing rapidly.
On June 28, Muslims delivered the vast majority of their votes to the Liberals, especially in greater Toronto .. In this process, Muslim leaders claim, with statistics on their side, Muslims did nothing less than to "save" (at least in their eyes) Canada from the Conservatives.
To put it bluntly, Muslims now hold the balance of power in at least 100 ridings.
If you doubt all this, check this headline on a post-election "media communique" issued by the Canadian Islamic Congress: Muslim Vote Helps Save Canada from Conservative Government: More than 80 per cent of Eligible Canadian Muslims Voted -- with Liberals the Overwhelming Favourite.
According to a CIC exit poll, 71% of Muslims voted Liberal; 23% opted for the NDP; 3% for the Bloc Quebecois, with the remaining 3% spread among the Conservatives, Greens and independent candidates.
Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, CIC's national president, finds it significant that 88% of Muslim voters younger than 25 bothered to cast ballots, with more voting for the NDP than usual, and the percentage of Muslim women casting ballots -- eat your heart out Osama bin Laden! -- was slightly higher than that of men.
The good doctor sums up the CIC's response to the election result: "It's a very good day for democracy in Canada."
Ms. Wahida Valiante, CIC national vice-president, chimes in: "CIC took a leading role to engage Muslims in this election.... But now we must hold every MP accountable to the electorate that placed them there. The real work has just begun."
A CIC research document stresses that, for the first time, there were more than 100 ridings in Canada "where Muslims hold a significant 'swing vote' of between 1.8% and 13.5%."
HOW THE ISLAMIC CONGRESS RATES OUR MPS
Back in April, the CIC flexed its electoral muscle by issuing what it called "Canada's first election research report card," grading all 301 MPs on their performance in Ottawa over the last four years. They were assessed against a position paper on 10 national and 10 international issues, including, of course, their position toward the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, as defined by the aforesaid CIC.
The CIC report claims, among other things, that Israel's occupation of parts of southern Lebanon, the Golan Heights, Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, "is a violation of international law and is seriously undermining world peace."
Then it takes some shots, of sorts, at the Martin government: "Current Canadian policy toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ... is more of the Israel-cannot-do-wrong, and thus is less balanced than under previous administrations."
Nonetheless, it reports, 42 Liberal MPs out of a total of 85 MPs get "A" ratings on its report card, including Paul Martin and Cabinet members Bill Graham, Reg Alcock, Ralph Goodale and John McCallum. Joe Volpe and Pierre Pettigrew merit Fs.
By contrast, all 14 NDP members get As, while only six Conservatives receive As and 69 Fs, and 23 Bloc MPs get As and one an F.
RIDINGS WHERE MUSLIMS HAVE MOST CLOUT
According to the extensive CIC research, of the 101 ridings where Muslim voters can cast "swing votes," seven of the top 10 are in the Greater Toronto Area, two in Montreal and one in Ottawa. The riding with the most Muslims, 13.5%, is Don Valley West, Toronto, followed by Don Valley East, 12.5%.
ISLAM'S WORLD INFLUENCE DEFINED
The document, dealing with Canada's relations with Muslim nations, defines Islam "as a religion, an ideology, and a world view [that] is a progressive force in the advancement of the human race toward attaining world peace with justice."
It adds: "History repeatedly attests that when Muslims faithfully followed the true teachings of Islam, they and the rest of the world prospered. Whenever Muslims did not follow the teachings of Islam, they, along with the rest of the world, suffered greatly."
Then it urges Canada to focus on trade with the 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, saying their nations should be at or near the top of our leading trade partners, cautioning that globalization must be "mediated" so it benefits all people, "not only the rich and powerful countries."
