What a disappointment Canada is becoming. Her standing was once so high in the Muslim world, yet now she is descending into a close friend of Israel and forgetting all those values that once made Canada so appealing. Traditionally following US foreign policy, Canadanonetheless in the past managed to steer a course quite distinct from that of her southern neighbour and maintained friendly relations with Muslim majority countries, as well as being seen as an honest broker and one whom the Muslim world could look to with confidence as not being biased against them. Egyptians remember fondly the part Canada played hereafter the Tri-Partite aggression in 1956, supplying peace keeping troops in the Canal Zone. Even when Canada sent troops to Afghanistan, as part of the coalition fighting a War on Terror, her relations with the Muslim world remained good. In recent years, though, under the government of Stephen Harper, Canada has moved to the right, stubbornly supporting Israel on all fronts and managing to alienate many of the friends it had taken years to win. Its most recent decision to brand Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and to break ties with Tehran makes friendship with the Arab and Muslim world seem a thing of the past. Harper's government has made its strategic choices for the future – and Muslims do not seem to be a part of it. Like the United States once did, Canada has relied very heavily on immigration to build herself up. In any Canadian city you will find people from many different countries who are now Canadian citizens. Unlike the melting pot model of the USA, though, where different ethnic groups were encouraged to blend in as part of the American way of life, Canada's model was more of a patchwork quilt, where different cultures and identities could still exist within the overall framework of Canada. This meant that over the years, Canada attracted many Muslims from the Middle East and the sub-continent of India. You will find them now in all walks of life in Canadian society, running their own businesses and playing a full role in all of the professions. Incidentally, because in the beginning, Canada's Muslims had to get on a plane and needed money, qualifications and a visa to enter the country, Canada's Muslims are not a deprived group, like in many of the countries of Europe. Perhaps because of this, Canada has not been beset by the terrorist threats that we have seen in other countries. In fact, Canada's Muslims are at least as well educated as other Canadians are. Some even suggest that as a group, Canadian Muslims are better educated than most. Quite why, then, the government of Stephen Harper has chosen to turn its back on its Muslim population and turn, instead, to Israel is rather puzzling. How he has been seduced by the rhetoric of Netanyahu, to the disadvantage of his country, is a mystery. Unfortunately, recent years have seen a number of cases where Muslims have been detained and prevented from boarding planes in Canada, whilst on another front voices have been raised against the wearing of hijab for sports. The detention of one of Canada's citizens at Guantanamo Bay, despite little evidence against him and despite his being a minor when he was first detained, as well as collusion between the Canadian and US Security forces in this and other matters has left a sour taste. Things are no longer what they were. What a pity that Canada can no longer be seen as the honest broker she once was. When Israel attacked Lebanon, the government of Canada described this as an “appropriate response." Canada gave further full support when Gaza was attacked and Palestinian men, women and children were maimed and killed. Furthermore, when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visited Washington and clashed openly with President Obama on the idea of Israel's 1967 borders being the basis for negotiations, Harper agreed with Netanyahu in opposing the President. Harper's knee-jerk response during the so-called Arab Spring was to support Mubarak and dictators in the region, in the name of “stability". There has been a marked change on the domestic front, too. Spending on fighter missiles, prisons and corporate tax breaks has replaced much of the social spending and welfare projects for which the country was famous. “Tough on crime" has been one of the government's slogans, with the introduction of mandatory prison sentences for drug offences, even though these have been tried and failed in the United States. With the lowest crime rate in recent history, the government has spent 9.5 billion dollars on prisons for whom there are no inmates, no doubt pleasing hardliners, but doing little to make any real difference to Canadian society. So just who is Stephen Harper trying to impress with his hard line at home and this new aggressive stance abroad? Admittedly, in recent years the Muslims coming to Canada have been different to their predecessors. Canada's most recent Muslims have often been refugees and asylum seekers, not the wealthy professionals of old. They came to seek help from Canada, not to contribute something to it. But if it is the policy of Canada to accept these people, then its policy should surely not be to discriminate against them once they have arrived, allowing them to be blamed for the country's problems. It is a sad fact in many countries of the West that once the economy begins to worsen, with all the subsequent austerity measures and loss of jobs, people have looked for someone to blame. Muslim immigrants have been an easy target, just as immigrants from different backgrounds were used as a scapegoat in years gone by. “Why should they take our jobs," many right-wing politicians are heard to exclaim. “Why don't they go home," others call out to Muslim youths born in the country! Allowing such fear-based politics to enter the Canadian political landscape is a sad turn of events. Blaming refugees and asylum seekers or those whose skin colour is different is not the way forward for a developed country like Canada. Canada has contributed much to the world's makeup by its liberal and open-minded outlook in the past. This new Canada is just not very nice. Politicians come and go. Stephen Harper will not be the Prime Minister of Canada for ever. Canada needs to realise, though, that things in the Middle East are changing at a rapid pace. It is a very risky policy decision for the government of Canada to opt for Israel, rather than other countries in the region. Many are hoping that we will see a return to the caring face of Canada we all once knew. Inshallah, Canada will wake up and realise who its friends really are. Israel, after all, is only interested in Israel. The Muslim world, on the other hand, of over one and a half billion people, seems a much surer bet, not only for trade and investment, but for genuine shared interests. As countries in the Arab world grow more and more confident in their new found democracy, they are where Canada should be looking, not to a state that is looking more and more precarious within the region. Canada has been a beacon of hope for millions in the past. Inshallah, it will return once more to that role. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, teaches at Al-Azhar University. The author of nine books about Islam, he divides his time between Egypt and the UK as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com and join him on Facebook at Idris Tawfiq Page
