Toronto’s fourth Journey of Faith Conference. Where you too can find tolerance through Islam’s Revelations and Prophetic Traditions!

Written by Grace

As the Toronto Star makes a brief mention of the Journey of Faith conference in Toronto this weekend, Xtra!, Canada’s gay and lesbian news offers a more in depth look into the organizations promotion of ” the understanding of Islam through the Revelations and the Prophetic Traditions.

While hundreds of thousands will be celebrating Pride this weekend, down the street the Metro Toronto Convention Centre an Ontario Crown Corporation, will play host to the popular, annual religious conference. Last year’s Journey of Faith conference saw over 10,000 Muslims and a scattering of non-muslims in attendance, all eager to take in themany speeches of renowned Islamic scholars from around the world.

If you’re at all confused by Islam, are a non-muslim interested in learning more about the faith or ever wanted to see what Islam truly teaches and what its values and principles are, the organizers at Journey of Faith extend a special invitation just for you! Forget Gay Pride-this is the place to be. Admission is free for non-Muslims and all are welcome to bring the kids, enjoy the crafts bazzar, assorted treats and who knows- maybe you’ll be lucky enough to sheikh hands with some prominent speakers imported from abroad.

So take some diversity time before lunch on Saturday or break away on Sunday to learn more about the most ‘misunderstood religion on earth’. Get to know some scholars and what they preach. Unsure of what to see first? How about taking in Dr. Bilal Philip’s lecture entitled Emman Town. The Journey of Faith site describes it as:

“Imagine a city of Faith, teeming with religious conviction, compassion, and cooperation. Dr. Bilal Philips will impart the blueprint of Madeenatur-Rasool (the city of the Prophet) to help us transform our homes, Mosques, schools and entire societies into powerhouses of Emaan, gleaming with and spreading the light of Islam. Join Dr. Bilal for the communal change of a lifetime”.

This esteemed popular scholar, teacher and author was born Dennis Bradley Philips in Kingston, Jamaica. At age 11 he moved to Canada settling down with his family. Before his conversion to Islam in 1972 he was a Communist Party activist. He graduated from the Islamic University of Medina with a BA and later obtained an MA in Islamic theology from the King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He now lives in Qatar and comes back to Canada to occasionally lecture.

It’s also worth noting that in 2007, Australia barred Dr. (Sheikh) Bilal Philips from entering the country to speak at the Australian Islamic Conference at Melbourne University. As it happens, he has been linked to the 1993 World Trade Centre bombings in New York with the U.S. government naming him an un-indicted co-conspirator in the bombings that killed six and injured 1,000. In response, Philips accused Australian authorities of ” blindly following American allegations and unsubstantiated false accusations”, claiming that investigations in the U.K., Canada and Australia had found no evidence to connect him to terrorism. He further mocked the statement of un-indicted co-conspirator in the ’93 WTC bombings as a ‘joke’. As of April 2011, he has been barred from re-entering Germany considered a persona non grata.

As if this weren’t enough, Philips openly advocates the marriages of pre-pubescent girls, public executions and stonings. But rest assured, “the cutting of hands and heads, stoning of people to death and public lashes are only to be held on Fridays” he asserts on his web site.

If you missed Philips but have some time between lunch and the five o’clock halal snack, you may want to sit and enjoy another enlightened scholar, Abdur Raheem Green born of British parents and another convert to Islam. His 25 minute “Can’t We All Just get Along?” lecture promises to tackle the small differences, to improve race relations within the ummah itself, untie and bring the true believers under one umbrella because- we ALL BELONG!………

Too caught up at the crafts bazzar bartering for a bracelet and missed that one? Not to worry- Green appears again with his “Father of Ignorance” lecture Sunday afternoon- a speech promising to help you find ways to combat the persecution and propaganda against Muslims. With a special emphasis on dealing with Islamophobia in the West, he guides us today in a new, peaceful, promising and a Prophetic Light. Before Sunday dinner you’ll leave bedazzled, educated and equipped to enlighten the enemies of Islam.

Too bad Raheem Green’s can’t we all just get along? ditty doesn’t extend to the people of Pride as he calls for the enactment of sharia law and the death penalty through stoning of homosexuals and adulterers. Of course, that small detail doesn’t matter here any more than other similar small details didn’t matter when he was invited by the Federation of Islamic Societies to lecture at University College, London, England. During his speech to students he proudly claimed that “terrorism works” and in finding a shared understanding with Osama bin Laden, he comfortably declared a “permanent state of war exists between the people of Islam and the people who oppose Islam”.

For the ladies, two exciting lectures by Mohammed Faqih promise to be enlightening. The speaker waxes that women have always enjoyed empowerment and esteem in Islam through his first lecture “The Bent Rib-Woman in Islam”. The second and my personal favourite, ” You can be the Happiest Woman in the World” discusses the lives of six Muslimahs and how we too, can learn from their courage and trust in Allah to become the happiest woman in the world.

But not everyone is happy with this year’s line-up of guest speakers at the Journey Faith Islamist Jubilee Conference. “We asked police to monitor the situation, especially two individuals, because one of them in particular has a history of saying very hateful things,” said Toronto Centre MPP Glen Murray, as he walked down Church St. for the Trans Pride March. “Hate is hate is hate is hate and people who try to be bearers of hate are offensive at any time,” he added.

According to Xtra! magazine, Trinity-Spadina MPP Rosario Marchese is looking to file a complaint with the attorney-general’s office. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on Pride weekend or not,” Marchese told Xtra!. “It’s unbelievable that people could have such feelings. You would think they would hide their views and not express them as if it’s an acceptable point of view.”

Yet these views seem perfectly acceptable for the many thousands of Muslims who have flocked to this conference over the past few years. And if these views are not acceptable, where’s the public denouncement from those within the community? With each passing year we see more controversial speakers attend this conference whose intolerant views are never challenged. So year after year, the Journey of Faith continues with nary a peep of protest. Who goes to this? Seriously. Pimply faced fresh converts who think wearing a knitted cap is cool? Young blushing women with crushes on Islamists who on their way out pick up a niqab and a DVD copy of their favourite lecturer who tells them how to be a virtuous, modest woman? Old timers who seek to protect themselves against the whispers of the shaytan and the tricks of the jinn in a wicked western world?

I don’t know who goes, but I’m willing to bet I know the group that is neither welcome or invited. Good thing the streets of Toronto are wide enough to accommodate this much “diversity”. We’ll have to see exactly how much the pavement narrows with each passing Journey of Faith Conference, an event billed to “introduce humanity through Islam”.

This article was written by Grace for Vladtepesblog. Please feel free to copy to your own site with a link back and proper attribution.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

12 Replies to “Toronto’s fourth Journey of Faith Conference. Where you too can find tolerance through Islam’s Revelations and Prophetic Traditions!”

  1. AbdulRaheem never called for the killing of homosexuals during his entire speech. When you say that Phillips encourages the marriage of pre-pubescent girls, you’re obviously not realizing that this is being said because of the Prophet Muhammad ‘s(pbuh) marriage to Aisha. Aisha was engaged to the Prophet (pbuh) because of her own father, who begged the two to be married. Aisha was engaged to the Prophet (pbuh) when she was pre-pubescent but then brought into his home when she became a woman (menstruation), this was a common practice around the world not exclusive to the middle east but happened in Europe, Africa and other areas.

    This conference is a positive one that encourages charity, helping your neighbors and uniting members of Islam. As for the people who go to this conference, MUSLIMS attend this conference, Families, young women and men who wish to learn more and be immersed in their religion.

  2. Raheem didn’t call for the killing of homosexuals because once the story broke that the Journey of Faith organizers had invited these two vile men, the leader assured they would not repeat their anti-gay, hateful views. In no way does that take away from the fact he has openly called for the sharia punishment of stoning against gays and adulterers.

    In regard to Philips, I couldn’t care less who was engaged to who, when the prophet married Aisha, who brought her into whose house and when, who begged that they marry or at what age she started her period. I absolutely do realize the context and don’t care about that either. Any man who advocates the marriage of under-age girls is a disgusting human being.

    But the worst of it all, is the balled-faced claim that this event whose organizers have for two years now invited the worst kind of hate-mongers into this country billing them them as respected scholars, could in any way be seen as positive.

    If it is an event which encourages charity and unity, then I would think that instead of being defensive, you’d be mortified to know that these two invited guest speakers would see nothing wrong with advocating violence against the gay neighbours down the street at the other big event, the pride parade. Or is the concept of unity best defined by MUSLIMS for MUSLIMS at a conference that MUSLIMS attend?

    Immerse away, but until this conference stops hosting speakers who are known to advocate violence through sharia, my response will remain the same.

  3. I’m saying is that Green DID NOT call for the killing of Homosexuals during his speech as you wrote he did, if he has in the past this is something that wasn’t known to me, but don’t say that he said in his speech yesterday because he didn’t.

    All three of the major monotheistic religions calls for the killing of homosexuals, as does Islam, some believe that is should be enacted and some don’t. As for Bilal Phillips “advocating” marriage to adolescent girls, this isn’t true. He doesn’t advocate nor encourage these marriages. Phillips recognizes and reiterates that there is nothing wrong with marrying a girl when she becomes a WOMAN in the eyes of God, and only if her permission is given. It is a grave sin to force anyone into a marriage they don’t want to be apart of.

    Christianity not only calls for the stoning of homosexuals but also those who touch Mount Sinai, women who are not virgins on their night of marriage, rape victims, those who curse the “king”, but never is that religion painted in such a negative light as Islam. Yes, Islam does say that homosexuals should be stoned as all other people who partake in un-lawful sexual activities, and these speakers agree with that aspect and all aspects of Islamic Law.

    As for Green saying “terrorism works”, that’s the only thing that I applaud you for bringing to my attention, that’s something that mortifies and disgusts me, not these speakers who believe in all of their religion and don’t “pick and choose” in what parts of their sacred text to believe in, like leaders of other Abrahamic religions for the sole purpose of being politically correct.

  4. Lila,

    Please read my first paragraph again. As for the comparison to Christianity which is often used to de-rail the issue at hand, it’s a fatuous one. Let me be very clear: any speaker who agrees with that aspect (homosexuals should be stoned as all other people who partake in un-lawful sexual activities) and all aspects of Islamic law should not be welcome in Canada. Sharia law has no place in this country.

  5. “Christianity not only calls for the stoning of homosexuals but also those who touch Mount Sinai, women who are not virgins on their night of marriage, rape victims, those who curse the “king”, but never is that religion painted in such a negative light as Islam. ”

    Yes, maybe they did but 500 years ago. Islam is judged by its current views. It’s very simple. For the tree is known by its fruit and so is islam.

    “Yes, Islam does say that homosexuals should be stoned as all other people who partake in un-lawful sexual activities, and these speakers agree with that aspect and all aspects of Islamic Law.”

    Wonderful. Fine by you, is it? If it is, you should leave Canada and go where that is acceptable. Plenty countries to choose from.

  6. JAP:

    Please show scriptural support for your assertion that Christianity or Judaism calls for the death penalty for homosexuality and much more importantly, please name a Christian or Jewish nation which actually practices this. I await your response. Thank you. Meanwhile I shall prepare the same answers for Islam, and Islamic nations.

  7. Lila,

    I have two questions.

    (1) Which Christian scriptures call for the killing of homosexuals? and,

    (2) Which Christian nations apply the punishment of murder to gays?

    In the meantime, I’ll work on the list of nations which have Islamic law that daily persecute and execute gays.

  8. There are no “current” views in Islam, what is current now was current 500 years ago because we follow the Qur’an in it’s ENTIRETY. As for Christianity it calls for the killing of all Jews, Muslims and anyone else who isn’t Christian, Eeyore, “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. Leviticus 20:13 . Uganda is a Christian country that I can think off the top of my head that implements this, but I’m sure there is more. All I’m telling you that Orthodox Christianity in it’s true form is more violent than Orthodox Islam.

    Obviously Sharia Law has no place in Canada because there is a separation of Church and State in this country, Sharia Law is not even practiced in it’s true form anywhere in the World. Homosexual sex is a sin, and sins are only sins because they cause us and the sinner harm.” The spread of homosexuality has caused man diseases which neither the east nor the west can deny exist because of them. Even if the only result of this perversion was AIDS – which attacks the immune system in humans – that would be enough.

    It also causes the breakup of the family and leads people to give up their work and study because they are preoccupied with these perversions. ” Homosexual sex can also cause many health problems for the person later in life, because they are doing something unnatural and not permissible by God. In an Islamic court of Law this act along with murder, fornication and rape is justified by the death sentence.

  9. Firstly, the death penalty called for in Leviticus 20:13 is no longer binding for Christians.

    What was current 500 or 1,400 years ago is not current today in any western nation, no matter which religious hat you choose to don. Move on.

  10. Eeyore,
    Your question should not be addressed to me. I just copied two paragraphs Lila wrote and commented on it. 🙂

  11. It’s not “binding” because some not all Christians choose not to believe it, it’s still in their holy book. That’s what I’m saying, those are God’s words similar to what God said in the Qur’an about homosexuals. If any scholar, whether Christian or Muslim or Jewish, chooses to believe in God’s words, I have nothing against it.