In view of this supreme law of the land, it would seem that when dealing with the issues of freedom of expression, the laws dealing with defamation, slander, libel, sacrilege, desecration, blasphemy and apostasy (in the context of the rights of the Muslim minority population living as lawful citizens of this country), not only our courts but also all our citizens are under a legal constitutional obligation to look into the matter in the light of the above essential considerations.

The Islamic Blasphemy/Apostasy issue cannot be looked at or discussed in isolation or out of multicultural context in that the religious beliefs of the Muslim population of Canada and their way of life is an integral part of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.

(a) Phase One: from an ethnocentric, monolithic, unilingual society towards a bilinguistic, bicultural and multicultural society.

In Canada, a country with its longstanding bilingual and bicultural history, as well with its constitutional commitment to ethnic equality and multiculturalism, things seem to have come to a dead stop. When efforts are made to persuade the powers that be to implement the theory of multiculturalism, to put it into practice, one finds little evidence of any sincere measures. A great deal of heated debate and hot air is created in sheer rhetorical terms. This is all that one finds in plentiful measure.

In practice, the alleged liberal-mindedness of Canadians and their claim to world leadership as international brokers of peace and peace-keeping or as champions of fairness and equality, etc., etc., amounts to mere platitudes meant only for foreign consumption and packaged to please the ears of the international community.

To illustrate this point of view, let us take a closer look at the latest development in the Canadian constitutional arena. The Calgary Declaration recognizes the unique character or unique identity of Quebec society, and in the same breath, stresses that all Canadians and all provinces are equal. What is the basis of this wonderful arrangement/agreement? What do we find? We find that none of the participating leaders at the Calgary conference (or even during debates in the provincial legislatures for support of the declaration) deemed it necessary to give any serious thought to multiculturalism or attempt to create a supra-racial, supra-regional or supra-linguistic society. None of these leaders seemed to acknowledge the reality that the Canadian mosaic consists of a multiplicity of special and distinctive societies within Canada - not just Anglo Saxon and the French cultural societies. We do not seem to have fully overcome the unfortunate national trait, described by Keith Spicer in his fact-finding report on Canadian constitutional problems, as "the coast-to-coast terminal meanness matched by terminal bitterness in Quebec." But we have made some progress in expressing our generosity in acknowledging and accommodating the obvious distinctness of Quebec and its special needs. Is it not incumbent upon all Canadians to extend a similar generosity to that multiplicity of special and distinctive societies (other than Quebec) within Canada who have constitutional rights under the multicultural heritage provision to be treated equally along with the Quebec society. When it comes to granting that necessary extra, we cannot seem to overcome our 'traditional meanness' identified by Keith Spicer as one of the major causes of our constitutional problems. We act as though granting the same necessary extra to other cultural entities somehow diminishes the rest of us.

When it comes to identities, a person can and does possess overlapping identities. In our modern age, this allows the possibility of enrichment and pleasure. A person can be a devout Muslim, Christian, Jew or of secular persuasion and still be a loyal citizen of Canada. Multiple identities mean electicism which require tolerance of others. Without some conscious attempt to comprehend the logic of this formula, we reduce Multiculturalism to a meaningless shibboleth.
 

(b) Phase Two: from a multi-culture to a universal Culture - a natural evolution of human society
 

To quote Marmaduke Pickthall, "the aim of culture is not the cultivation of the individual or a group of individuals, but of the entire human race. It aims at nothing less than universal human brotherhoods -- literary, artistic, linguistic and scientific achievements are regarded as the incidental phenomena of culture [and serve to act] as either aids to the end, or refreshment for the wayfarer."⁽²⁹⁾ In other words, as he further asserts, culture "aims not at beautifying and refining the resources of human life: it aims at beautifying and exalting human life itself.

Inherent in such a conception of culture it is the active principle of unity which is rooted in a shared framework concerning a progressive belief in the ideals of universal brotherhoods without distinction of race, religion, ethnic background, language or place of abode.

To paraphrase a passage from our publication, 'Oh! Canada: Whose Land? Whose Dream?' : 30 ,"The practise of universal brotherhood requires tolerance of differences. Tolerance can be helped to become established and to flourish by ensuring that there are an array of social, judicial, political, educational, and constitutional means of protecting, preserving and enhancing the autonomy of individuals and communities. This is especially true in relation to minorities who, because of their relative disadvantage of not belonging to the ethnic/racial/religious/secular majority, need to be treated as a "protected community" within the larger community. Indeed, governments have a duty of care to protect the legitimate interests of these "strangers," rather than forcing on them a culture of assimilation which is not conducive to the preservation of the identity and integrity of such minority groups.

In the context of the special cultural/religious needs of the Muslim community in respect of their beliefs about blasphemy, it indeed behoves a broad-minded people like Canadians to accommodate their (Muslim community's) needs by simply taking that extra step discussed earlier - this will not diminish the rest of us. Mutual respect, compassion and diversity will only help us grow together rather than apart. Surely it will be worthwhile to rise above the pettiness and the 'terminal meanness' of linguistic, regional, racial and narrowly defined cultural considerations. It is our belief that this sentiment is a living force among Canadians who are fast becoming aware of the futility of working with the handicap of tunnel-vision which tends to create blind spots at the expense of the broad supra-racial, supra-linguistic and supra-territorial peripheral vision which encompasses universal brotherhood.

For Muslims, Faith means Faith in the Unity of Reality which includes physical and supra-physical Nature. Consequently, it is a Faith in the unity and solidarity of Humanity which the Qur'an enunciates by saying that all human beings are the multiplication of one soul. It follows from this that all humanity is one social organism, and "Whoever slays a soul unless it be for man-slaughter [as a legalpunishment] or mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men." [Qur'an 5:32] As a corollary of this belief an individual as a human being exists only as an integral part of a social organism; the injury to one part is an injury to the whole. Sa'di, the philosopher poet has interpreted the Qur'anic teaching in these words, "Human beings form one body and individuals are limbs and organs of it: when one part suffers, its painful effects must necessarily be felt by all other parts."

The efficacy of this universally accepted principle is in fact demonstrated ever so often in our daily lives. For instance, whenever a major natural calamity (eg. earthquake, flood, fire, or famine, etc.) occurs in some part of the world, people from all over the world rush in to help alleviate the sufferings of the unfortunate victims. This principle, which is applied in this example to suffering of a physical, material nature, must be extended in its application to similar devastating dimensions of the emotional injuries which are inflicted upon the victims of blasphemy. For nothing can cause more destruction or havoc to the universal tolerance of people especially with respect to religious matters than this despicable capital crime. In this respect, the realization of the oneness of humanity, is the highest point of morality and culture - a necessary condition of the well-being of man. Lack of information ('the knowledge vacuum') about the religious needs of Muslims results in the intolerance which prevails in the non-Muslim sectors of the Canadian population.

In this context and in this sense, a two-fold challenge for such non-Muslim sectors of Canada is how to expand the Western idealistic notions of justice, equality, freedom and liberty beyond their bounds to include all humanity, and secondly to reach out to those not of their civilization and openly extend the collective hand of genuine friendship. It goes without saying that in both cases a mutual understanding as well as a working relationship are essential. Obviously, this will only be possible if there is a universal tolerance of others among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, an appreciation of their uniqueness and a willingness to understand them. Muslims need not be seen as sulking strangers  to complete the second phase of the maturing of Canada. In the next millenium, it is imperative that these sentiments become both personal philosophy and national policy.

It is our earnest hope that our efforts to fill in the 'knowledge vacuum' (which causes intolerance of other cultures) will enable Canadians at large to develop a heightened sensitivity to the needs of the Muslim community that resides within the larger multicultural Canadian community.

Similar sentiments seem to be expressed, perhaps in a somewhat different context, by Michel Montaigne. He says, "the souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mould - the same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbour causes a war twixt princes."

29. Marmaduke Pickthall, Cultural Side of Islam, Lahore, Pakistan, Shaikh Muhammad Ashraf, 1976.

30. Syed Mumtaz Ali and Dr. Anab Whitehouse, Oh! Canada: Whose Land? Whose Dream?, The Canadian Society of Muslims, 1991