January 28, 2005
No charges for Miracle
CJC is disappointed, but has faith in judicial process.
PAT JOHNSON
The publisher of a local Muslim newspaper that ran a viciously anti-Semitic article will not face charges. The Miracle, a Delta-based publication, had reprinted a litany of anti-Jewish accusations, blaming "the jews" (sic) for the attacks on the World Trade Centre, two world wars, the Depression, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and another 83 similar assertions.
The Crown announced last week, following a year of investigation, that the case would not be recommended for criminal charges for the wilful promotion of hatred.
Nusrat Hussain, the publisher of the Miracle, said he is relieved and he condemned the article that he ran Dec. 26, 2003. The article was a reprint of an anti-Semitic tract making the rounds via the Internet. It was written by Edgar J. Steele, a disbarred lawyer from Idaho."I had apologized and I was very clear about it, for the article was offensive," Hussain told the Bulletin last week. "I had never said that I was in favor of the article or I agreed. On the contrary, I was very clear. I condemned the article. But I was doing a different line. I was defending the freedom of speech."Canadian laws regarding the promotion of hatred rest on the intent of the speaker or publisher of allegedly hateful comments. Hussain compares the standard of intent to the difference between murder and accidental death.
"There's a difference if you murder a person [or] if somebody is killed under your car by accident," he said. "Although in the end it is the death of a person, you have to prove the intentions.
"The intention was never to promote hate in this case," he said.
Though he is pleased with the outcome, Hussain said the experience has been wrenching. He was hospitalized with a heart ailment for five days last February, shortly after the investigation began.
"I have suffered in my business also," he said. "I lost advertisers. I lost reputation. Politically, there were senators, a member of Parliament, a member of the legislature, who were writing for my newspaper. All of them withdrew."
The publisher sees a silver lining in the incident, though, citing what he says is a growth in dialogue between the Jewish and Muslim communities as a result of the issue and its surrounding publicity.
"There were positive things," said Hussain. "The Jewish and Muslim communities – the interaction which has started now – it was unheard of [before]. The people in my community would not like to listen about the Jewish community, the same way, I'm sure it was, on the other side. But this is a very positive thing that is happening. People are talking to each other. They are sitting together and talking about each other's views and listening to each other and that is, I believe, required."Canadian Jewish Congress, which brought the article to the attention of police, said the decision not to proceed to criminal charges does not diminish the harm done by the article.
"It has to be understood that, even though the Crown did not proceed with charges, the fact that something as anti-Semitic and as destructive as what was contained in that piece was published in our community created extreme distress for us," said Mark Weintraub, chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. "The Jewish community and the larger community should not have to be subjected to such vile propaganda. It has to be understood that simply expressing regret really doesn't go to the heart of the damage that is done when we have to continually deal with these terrible attacks on Jews."
Weintraub said that his organization sees no silver lining in hateful remarks, though he hopes the incident opened some eyes."We were heartened by many comments and expressions of empathy and sympathy and support from Muslim leaders," said Weintraub. "We have had excellent relations in the past with many segments of the Muslim community, so we did not need these kinds of expressions of anti-Semitism to bring our communities closer. What has occurred has perhaps made certain segments of the Muslim community aware that there are individuals in their community who hold views that are intolerant and really have no place in our community."Because it was the complainant in the case, Canadian Jewish Congress was verbally briefed on the decision by Crown not to proceed with charges. CJC has requested a copy of the Crown's written report, but Weintraub said he does not know if they are entitled to it.
"The Crown has to make a determination as to whether there is a likelihood of conviction and that it's in the public interest," explained Weintraub, who is a Vancouver lawyer. "Not every action that appears to be a crime always results in prosecution. The Crown does have discretion."
A decision not to go to charges can be based simply on likelihood of conviction and does not necessarily imply that the article was not hateful."The verbal summary was to the effect that the statements that were published were anti-Semitic," said Weintraub. "They could be construed as hate-filled. However, the means of the publication of these statements, which were a republication of an American anti-Semite in this particular newspaper, meant that it was not necessarily likely that the incitement-to-hate provisions of the Criminal Code would have been breached, because there are certain technical and procedural requirements to prove intent to incite and because of the mode of republication. The Crown was not satisfied that they would be able to meet the test."
Weintraub said he is satisfied that the investigation was thorough and his organization did the right thing in bringing it to the attention of the police.
"To our minds, we were satisfied that we had acted appropriately by turning this over to the Crown, because it was deemed to be highly anti-Semitic," he said. "But, at that point, we have to let the justice system take its course. We have advocated over the years for a highly specialized hate crime team. We have been successful in that regard and we think that there are very competent people in that hate crime team who understand the technicalities of the law and, if they considered that a charge should not be proceeded with, while we are disappointed, we have confidence in the process and in the judicial system. As far as we're concerned, we saw a crime, we acted appropriately, we co-operated with the authorities and we continue to have confidence in our judicial system."
CJC is awaiting a decision on whether charges will come in another prominent British Columbia case under investigation by the Hate Crime Team. Last year, Sheik Younus Kathrada, a Vancouver imam, made international headlines when tapes of the Muslim religious leader's comments, in which he referred to Jews as "the brothers of monkeys and swine" and called on Muslims to kill Jews, were made public. The case is under investigation by RCMP.
CJC has used the two incidents to repeat requests that the province fully fund the Hate Crime Team, a specialized group of police, Crown counsel and support staff that saw its funding sharply cut under provincial cost-saving measures. Premier Gordon Campbell has promised to restore funding for the body, which has been reduced to one RCMP officer, but the money has not been forthcoming. Observers expect funding may be provided in the budget before this May's provincial election.
Pat Johnson is a B.C. journalist and commentator.
