Monday, February 07, 2011

Tarek Fatah: I Have No Proof

An update on the Tarek Fatah/NAMF dust-up that was supposed to have occured last Saturday, before Fatah withdrew, citing "personal safety" among other reasons:

The moderator was changed shortly before the event was to begin, angering Mr. Fatah, who described the audience as “hostile.” His associates with the Muslim Canadian Congress — a grassroots organization Mr. Fatah helped found — then requested one of their replacement moderators be called in, angering Farooq Khan, executive director of NAMF, who described MCC members as full of “hyperbole and imaginary fear.”

At around 6 p.m., Mr. Fatah said he was warned by police of threats to his safety, though he added he has no proof.

“I did not feel comfortable there,” he said.

For their part, neither Mr. Khan nor Staff Sergeant Jim Qualtrough at Toronto’s 42 Division said they were aware of any safety concerns or threats. Staff Sergeant Qualtrough said that “as far as the police are concerned, nothing happened at that location Saturday night.”

The incident also generated this piece in the Jewish Tribune, which I found somewhat disappointing in that it basically regurgitates Tarek's side of the story, and doesn't deal with some of the wilder accusations he made afterwards.

PS. The phrase "shortly before" in the above means two days, as it has become clear that Karen Mock, the original moderator, announced she was pulling out on Thursday evening, and everyone involved, Mr. Fatah included, knew as much by Friday morning.

2 comments:

Rotterdam said...

The problem with debating a Imam like Masijid Qurtabah is that you give him credibility.
Hannity debated a similar Imam last week.
I guess the only good thing is that you get to expose them, and their left wing apologists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANG9s5EoAnQ

TobyG said...

If you watch "When Fatah Fled" on YouTube, you will see that Tarek pulled a fast one on his supporters... of course he knew about the moderator and the security situation well in advance of the scheduled debate.