Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been criticized in Canada and abroad for saying that “Islamicism” poses the greatest threat to Canada. In response to the PM, Liberal party leader Bob Rae said: “I think if you look at the outbursts of extremism around the world, I don’t think that you can limit it to just one religion, or ideology or form of nationalism,” while New Democratic Party foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar cautioned: “Let’s all guard against the knee-jerk demonizing and overheated rhetoric.”

The prime minister’s statement has been widely deplored, and rightly so. Yet many Canadian Muslims feel that the events of 9/11 have tarnished Islam’s image and caused them immense personal harm. A recent poll says that 60 per cent of Canadians feel that Muslims are discriminated against more in Canada now than they were 10 years ago. The poll results state that 74 per cent of Canadians believe that “our society has become less tolerant of others since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

Fifty-nine per cent assert that 9/11 has given them a negative impression of certain ethnicities and religious faiths. Nevertheless, 81 per cent of Canadians said that Canadian Muslims should be treated as other Canadians, as opposed to 15 per cent who favor Muslims being treated differently.

As a result of 9/11 Canadians now need passports to travel to the U.S. when formerly a drivers’ license sufficed. They also are checked thoroughly at the airports and land borders. Canadian governments have invested an additional $92 billion into national security organizations since 9/11.

These precautions are in my opinion justified. A Canadian-born Muslim software engineer working under contract to the Department of Foreign Affairs was found guilty in 2008 of being linked to a failed bomb plot in Britain. The first person charged under Canada’s anti-terrorism acts, he was sentenced to ten and a half years in jail. His appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Then there were the “Toronto 18” – mostly Canadian-born young Muslims who were accused of plans to blow up Parliament, behead the Prime Minister and cause mayhem in several cities. Security agencies foiled the plot but it underlined the need for ongoing vigilance to protect all Canadians.

The head of the Canadian Somali Congress told a U.S. congressional committee that dozens of Canadian Somali youth had joined the al-Shabaab group that is linked to Al-Qaeda. These developments suggest that some Canadian Muslim youth are vulnerable to extremist brainwashing even in a democratic and welcoming country like Canada.

But security authorities have been overzealous and have victimized innocent people on the basis of rumours and insinuations. Their most notable victim was Syrian-born Canadian engineer Maher Arar, about whom Canadian agencies passed false accusations to the U.S. and Syria. When Mr. Arar was returning home from a holiday through the U.S., the American authorities forcibly shipped him to Syria where he was tortured. His wife Monia Mozigh rallied Canadians to his cause and ultimately the government pressured Syria to return him to Canada. After Justice Dennis O’Connor determined that Mr. Arar was innocent and that the accusations that Canadians passed on to Syria and the U.S. against him were false, the government had to apologize to Mr. Arar and pay him $10.5 million in compensation.

If 9/11 had been an isolated incident it would probably not have inflicted such lasting damage. But the news coming from Muslim countries is relentlessly brutal –- of innocent people being killed in mosques, market places, and even their homes…

Three other Canadians – Abdullah Almalki, Ahmed El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin -- who were tortured in Syria because of false information provided about them to Syrian officials have also sued Canadian authorities for causing them to be jailed and tortured. And there are several other cases of security officials violating Canadian Muslims’ basic rights.

Canadian authorities, including former Prime Minister Jean Chretien in particular, have emphasized that Canadian Muslims are making immense contributions to the country. Most Muslims find their fellow Canadians to be warm, open-minded and fair. They see Canada as being perhaps the world's best country to live in.

If 9/11 had been an isolated incident it would probably not have inflicted such lasting damage. But the news coming from Muslim countries is relentlessly brutal –- of innocent people being killed in mosques, market places, and even their homes; of calls by Al-Qaeda to Muslims to kill non-Muslims and moderate Muslims; of bombings in Madrid (2004), London (2005) and India (repeatedly) and suicide bombings mostly in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

These convey the impression that -- legitimate grievances against Western policies notwithstanding -- some crazy Muslims see killing non-Muslims and Muslims as a religious duty.

Muslims in Canada and the U.S. have asserted repeatedly that Islam teaches peace, compassion and justice, that the people committing such horrors are far removed from Islamic teachings and that it is innocent Muslims who are suffering the most from such violence.

But their voices are drowned out of a persistent campaign of some media and other institutions of using half-truths and outright lies to promote hatred against Muslims and Islam. A handful of Muslims also regularly howl against Muslims and Islam and have become media darlings. Adding to the difficulties faced by our Muslim community here is the fact that we come from diverse countries and backgrounds and speak with different, often conflicting, voices.

No wonder many Canadians,  are confused about Islam, including the Prime Minister. This problem existed before he came into office and will likely persist long after he is gone. Canadian Muslims cannot control events in other countries. But to live as equal and respected citizens, Canadian Muslims will have to follow their religion’s teachings of compassion, integrity, education, unity and love for fellow men, irrespective of race, religion or gender, and respect for women, youth and the weak. If they do so in a united way they might convince their fellow Canadians that Islam is a religion of peace and that Canadian Muslims are a boon to the country. It won’t be an easy task but it has to be done for the good of Canadian Muslims and Canada itself.

Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian newspaperman, civil servant and refugee judge. He has received the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. ■