The piece is riddled with Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, genocide denial, and outright false information.
To the National Post,
I am writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding the opinion piece published today by Sheryl Saperia titled: “25 years on, what would bin Laden see?”
The piece is riddled with Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, genocide denial, and outright false information.
First, the opinion piece mentions that “Jew-hatred is foundational to Islamist ideology, and bin Laden did not conceal it.” To be clear, columnists are entitled to express their opinions, granted that they adhere to basic journalistic standards and do not perpetuate harmful stereotypes. The suggestion that hatred of Jews is somehow foundational to Islam or rooted in Muslim belief is simply false. Even though the author uses the words “Islamism” or “Islamist,” the argument irresponsibly conflates this with Islam. Islam does not teach the hatred of Jews; rather, at the heart of the religion is its principles of compassion, forgiveness, justice, and respect for others. Conflating the ideology of Osama bin Laden with Islam portrays the entire religion of Islam and its adherents through the beliefs and actions of Bin Laden, reinforcing harmful Islamophobic stereotypes in an already rising climate of Islamophobia.
Second, the opinion quotes Israeli diplomat and politician Einat Wilf, who mentions that it is a “fiction that Gazans are refugees with a right of return to Israel.” This is both false and a blatant form of anti-Palestinian racism. It has been affirmed time and time again that Palestinians have the right of return to Palestine, dating back to December 1948 where the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194:
“refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”
As noted by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity, belonging and rights in relation to occupied and historic Palestine is a form of anti-Palestinian racism.
Third, the opinion mentions that “we must name Islamist ideology as an existential threat to the world.” Again, this goes beyond just an expression of opinion. What the columnist is doing is weaponizing the events of 9/11 to unfairly spread hatred against Muslims. Under the principle of fairness as outlined in the Canadian Association of Journalists’ Ethics Guidelines, it is specified that journalists should “avoid reinforcing stereotypes and negative tropes and narratives associated with particular communities.” We believe that the rhetoric used by Sheryl Saperia violates these ethical standards and thus constitutes a serious breach of journalistic conduct.
CJPME calls on the National Post to address our concerns, otherwise we have no choice but to escalate our complaints further with the appropriate body of accountability.