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Is Canada's Justin Trudeau the Great Reformer of Islam?

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has become an icon of the West's rapprochement with Islam and its openness to Islamic values. Trudeau has defended the right of Muslim women to wear a niqab that covers the entire body and head with a slit for the eyes. He often visits mosques and Islamic centers, including those identifying with the Salafist movement and the Muslim Brotherhood, and he has praised the values of Islam as compatible with Canadian values. Trudeau ended Canada's air combat role against Islamic State (ISIS or Daesh) in 2016 and instructed the government only to use the term "Daesh" instead of "Islamic State." Canadian nationals who joined the ranks of the Islamic State were allowed to return to Canada without being prosecuted. The Canadian Muslim community is believed to number one million or 3.2% of Canada's population. Trudeau has taken on the role of the great reformer of Islam, who successfully incorporates liberal values in Islam. Aligning themselves with Canadian values, two senior members of the Canadian Council of Imams (CCI) publicly retracted their anti-LGBTQ statements. However, the Muslim leadership will soon have to deal with a growing number of critics in Salafist circles who warn against the danger liberalism poses to the Muslim community. The writer is a senior researcher of the Middle East and radical Islam at the Jerusalem Center.
2018-11-23 00:00:00
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