Article Added On: May 01, 2008 - 2 months ago
Title: Muslim group offers to pull Maclean's complaint for rebuttal
Original URL: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=483041
Author: Joseph Brean
Publication: The National Post
Publication Date: April 30, 2008 - 2 months ago
Faith Groups: Muslim
Themes: religion in the media

Abstract:

The Canadian Islamic Congress Wednesday offered to withdraw human rights complaints about allegedly Islamophobic journalism in Maclean's magazine in exchange for the publication of a rebuttal within three months by a mutually agreeable author.

"If Maclean's is ready to consider an opportunity for the Muslim population to have its say, we are ready for reasonable conciliation," said Faisal Joseph, lawyer for the CIC. "One way or another it's going to be dealt with, either by agreement or by an imposed decision."

At a press conference at a plush Toronto hotel, Mr. Joseph lamented that the Rogers media empire, which publishes Maclean's, has been represented in the media as the plucky victim against the unchecked power of human rights commissions and their complainants. "Somehow David and Goliath have been interchanged," he said.

According to his proposal, the CIC's hate speech complaint before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, scheduled to be heard next month, will only be withdrawn if Maclean's publishes a "counter-view response" to a 2006 article titled The Future Belongs to Islam. That article, an excerpt from a book by conservative columnist Mark Steyn called America Alone, is the most controversial of the 22 articles the CIC has singled out as offensive.

"We're not going to say how long it's going to be, but it has to be long enough, and give the opportunity to be able to properly give a reasoned, analytical approach to the 5,000 word article [by Mr. Steyn]," Mr. Joseph said.

He was joined by three recent law school graduates who were co-complainants in a similar case at the Ontario Human Rights Commission until three weeks ago, when the complaint was rejected on jurisdictional grounds. A similar complaint is still in the investigation stage at the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Maclean's did not respond to the proposal yesterday, except to say it will be addressed by the editors in a future issue.

Mr. Joseph acknowledged that what he billed as a settlement proposal is not substantially different from what his clients unsuccessfully demanded of the magazine last year, prior to their complaints.

"To us, there isn't much difference, but to [Maclean's] it might be huge," Mr. Joseph said, explaining that they no longer want to control the art design, and do not expect "unfettered" editorial control over the rebuttal, only that it be "long enough" and "mutually agreeable." He also said the demand that Maclean's make a nominal financial contribution to a race relations charity has been dropped.

He said he has an author in mind, but "there's no sense in putting that person in the limelight if it's not going to happen." He also hinted that the rebuttal has already been written, or at least sketched out, and that "one of the remedies in British Columbia may very well be that they could be ordered by the tribunal to put it in, subject to certain conditions and restrictions."

Mr. Joseph presented a letter of support from Jack Layton, leader of the federal NDP, who wrote that his party "appreciates the battle you are waging against mainstream media's portrayal of Muslim Canadians."