This is a long quote from a web page belonging to the Canadian Society of Muslims (CSM). The CSM was instrumental in the Sharia law putsch a few years back.
This is their view on the limits of free speech, blasphemy and apostasy in Canada. For the impatient here is the précis:
The entire global Muslim nation determines what is blasphemy and apostasy and what is the correct punishment for each. Muslims have been in Canada since confederation and because of this, the constitution was written with them in mind. The Charter of Rights mentions: the supremacy of God, reasonable limits on freedoms, and the respect for multiculturalism. Therefore in order to honour all three provisions, Canadian courts must defer to the global Muslim community with regard to apostasy and blasphemy in Canada - if it does not, it betrays multiculturalism and is unconstitutional.
[backgrounder on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for the foreign. Imagine the US Bill of Rights if it was written by Jimmy Carter]
the rights of individuals with regards to freedom of speech or expression, has to be balanced against the rights of other individuals to be protected from defamation, insults, slander and libel, etc. The same holds true with respect to the rights of all members of society vis a vis States, Sovereign rulers and the Real Sovereign, God - they all have to be harmonized in their own context. Obviously, then, when dealing with Islam or Muslims, one has to take into consideration the sensibilities of the whole Muslim ‘Community’/ ‘nation’/ ‘Ummat’ and their need for protection against harm, say for instance, through their rules of Blasphemy , which are framed on the basis of their own philosophy of life depicted through their own perception and sensibilities with regard to sacrilege, desecration, defamation, slander, libel and so on. Therefore, in the case of Blasphemy, it goes without saying that the Islamic rules are obviously determined by Muslims on the basis of their own religious principles…
According to the Preamble of the Charter, “Canada is ‘founded upon the principles that recognize the Supremacy of God and the Rule of Law.” This “preamble” too must be interpreted in the light of Section 27 which makes it mandatory that “this Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.”
Islam is and has been (even going back to the time of Confederation) a part and parcel of multicultural heritage and Muslim adherents have had the privilege of enjoying the status of ‘Canadians’.
Because of the recognition of “Supremacy of God,” Islamic law, which originates from the Divine Source of the Supreme Legislator, God, deserves to be recognized as a legitimate code under the Rule of which Law Muslims are constitutionally entitled to live and be recognized under Section 2(a): as to freedom of conscience and religion — in the same way as Islam recognizes the right of non-Muslims to live by their own laws when living as minorities in a Muslim State (as mentioned under “Islamic Law”)…
… The Canadian Charter of Rights (Section 1) also requires that any reasonable limits on the guarantees of the Charter have to be demonstrably justified. It is our position that in view of the above arguments that the limits prescribed by Islamic law, with regards to blasphemy/apostasy, do satisfy both the Charter requirements. Namely (i) the Islamic limits are reasonable limits, and are (ii) demonstrably justified within the meaning of Section 1 of the Charter on these grounds: a) The provision of the Preamble regarding the Supremacy of God, b) the constitutional obligation to interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians, c) that over one billion people (Muslims) worldwide consider those limits to the freedom of speech/expression to be reasonable, d)(i)what such a large segment of the Canadian minority believes as a precept of their faith/religion ought to be fully recognized if the Charter’s provision respecting freedom of religion are to have any real meaning. (ii) Adherence to Islamic principles in this context, ought to be accepted as sufficient enough to satisfy the Charter Requirement of demonstrable justification. Recognition of Islamic standards of reasonable limits on the freedom of speech by the Canadian courts does not necessarily entail any obligation to enforce the Islamic punishment for blasphemy/apostasy within the Canadian jurisdiction. The Muslims themselves (with the exception of the small Shi’ite minority) do not generally believe or insist on any extraterritorial rights to enforce Islamic Hadd punishment in non-Islamic countries. (See footnote 1, under II, Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions).
Therefore, it seems logical and reasonable that when dealing with situations which involve Islamic Blasphemy, the Canadian courts, in all fairness, must also determine the issue of the reasonableness of the limits on the freedom of speech and the issue of demonstrable justification in accordance with the sensibilities of the whole Muslim Community/Ummah. Muslims adhere to the Islamic religious principles underlying their laws, which according to them, are legislated under the very authority of the Real Sovereign, the ‘God’, Who is also recognized by the Charter Preamble.
Failing to do so will be a flagrant breach of equality rights under Section 15(1) of the Charter. Because of this failure, Muslims will not be given the equal protection and equal benefit of the law and they will not be treated as equal before and under the law. Indeed, Muslims will thus be discriminated against on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour and especially religion. All such diverse people as those who follow the Islamic religious tradition, despite their various race and ethnic origin are one people.
Failing to interpret the guaranteed rights and freedoms of Muslims, in accordance with the true spirit of multiculturalism results in the effective denial of this fundamental philosophy of the Canadian constitution. This is a tragic departure from that cherished ‘tolerance’ (the real tolerance) which is the distinguishing quality of a cultured people. The more tolerant a nation, the more cultured its people will be. With this measure of cultural excellence, Canada does hold a place of honour in the nations of the world and indeed we proudly stand head and shoulders above so many other nations. What a sad thing it would be to not appreciate the necessity of inculcating this multicultural philosophy into our daily lives. How else can human beings become civilized enough to be able to claim that they do actually respect other cultures and wish to co-exist with them.
It’s discourging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.SirNo%EBlCowardSir No?l Coward