Toronto: No charges over apes & swine curriculum

Toronto Islamic school will not face charges over anti-Jewish curriculum: police

Thanks to Uncle Vladdi

It would be intolerant to point out that Muslim children are indoctrinated with genocidal hatred. Can’t be seen being “Islamophobic”- but imagine for a moment if there was a kafir-school  teaching hatred of Muslims, where the curriculum calls Muslims sons of apes and swine and preachers who call for killing them all: we would never see the end of it!

National Post/Canada

TORONTO — A Toronto Islamic school whose teaching curriculum disparaged Jews and encouraged boys to keep fit for jihad will not face criminal charges but police said they had identified curriculum materials they found concerning.

A York Regional Police report on its investigation of the East End Madrassa said the school syllabus used offensive passages lifted from Iran, “challenged some of Canada’s core values” and “suggested intolerance.”

Police held Principal Masuma Jessa and Imam Syed Mohammed Rizvi responsible for the materials, which referred to “crafty,” “treacherous” Jews and contrasted Islam with “the Jews and the Nazis.”

“As leaders in their respective roles the two must accept responsibility for failing to appropriately screen the learning material,” York police wrote in a report released Thursday outlining their findings. “Although not held criminally responsible, the complaint has raised a legitimate concern and has prompted change.”

The police report confirmed that, as first revealed by the National Post, the passages that prompted the police probe were taken from two books published by Iranian foundations, one of which is controlled by the Iranian regime, whose president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is widely known for his antisemitism, Holocaust denial and threats to wipe out Israel.

While the report said Imam Rizvi, the Iranian-trained cleric at a Shiia mosque in Toronto, had defended the use of Iranian materials when interviewed by investigators, police said the Iranian connection “cannot be dismissed” since Iran “is a theocratic Islamic State” whose leader is on record calling for the death of Israel.

Police said the investigation forced them to stray beyond their law enforcement role “into an educator’s role to determine what is acceptable to teach young Canadians from a religious perspective,” the report said.

“What needs clarification is the degree to which we tolerate the exposure of young impressionable minds to the promotion of a belief or ideology while it denigrates other communities or faiths. The vetting of offensive language in religious teachings poses to be one of the great constitutional challenges of our post-modern, secular, liberal democracy.”

The East End Madrassa lost its license to use Toronto District School Board property shortly after the police investigation began six months ago. The school apologized and said it would review its curriculum.

The Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which had complained to police about the school, said it was disappointed no charges would be laid but praised police for the investigation.

“The antisemitic hate contained in the curriculum of Toronto’s East End Madrassah was blatant; it is frightening to learn that this revolting content … is being taught to young children; their minds are being poisoned and I cannot imagine how these youngsters will one day become grown ups capable of functioning as tolerant and respectful adults in a multicultural society,” said Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of FSWC.

“Although criminal charges are not being laid in this case, I think it is incumbent upon the Toronto District School Board, and indeed all Boards of Education who lease their property to private schools, to investigate the content being taught on their premises to ensure an incident of this nature does not happen again.”

National Post
sbell@nationalpost.com