Opinions with Bordman: The Left sold its soul by supporting Omar Khadr

To say that the Omar Khadr saga has polarized the country might seem like a stretch, an overwhelming majority of Canadians (71%) disagreed with the government’s $10.5-million-dollar settlement. There is a massive disconnect between the majority of the media, Trudeau’s Liberals and the hardline ideological Left vs. everyone else in Canada.

At the beginning of the Omar Khadr saga, there was a legitimate argument that 29% of the population who were in favour of the payout could make. The pro-payout position is that we are a country of laws, the Americans holding Khadr at Guantanamo Bay were a violation of Canadian law, and he was only 15 when he fought for the Taliban/Al Qaeda.

The counter-argument went along the lines that he was a confessed terrorist on video, who made and planted IEDs and was subsequently captured in a fight with American forces. If we were to have to pay him, it should have gone through the courts, not been a top-down decision from the Prime Minister’s Office.

This was a political argument that was contentious, but worth having. However, with recent development to the story, segments of the Left are no longer pro-rule of law; they are pro-Omar Khadr.

Omar Khadr’s most recent public appearance at Dalhousie was the perfect display of how proponents of the move have lost touch with reality. Khadr delivered the keynote speech for an event about child soldiers. Let’s disregard for a moment the argument of whether or not Khadr qualifies as a child soldier and take it as the fact that he was one.  

The new position is that Omar Khadr was a child soldier and is therefore deserving of our sympathy. Then someone must ask who turned Khadr into a child soldier, and how? The answer here is obvious, but unspoken. It was the Khadr family who radicalized him with their radical Islamic worldview. But was the Khadr family or their worldview brought into question once at Dalhousie? No.

It is no secret that the Khadr family has deep connections to terrorism. His father, Ahmed, was arrested in connection for the bombing of the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad and is considered to be a founding member of Al Qaeda. He was close with Osama Bin Laden, who was also invited to Zaynab’s wedding, the sister of Omar Khadr.

The myriad of radical hardline Islamist views of the Khadr family has been well documented, yet when Omar Khadr is asked about them, he has yet to disown their worldview. Instead, he has only offered how unfair it is that Canada will not let him spend time with them.

The softness of the media combined with Omar Khadr’s inability to accept responsibility and show remorse for his actions have taken the pro-payout side off a moral cliff. Now, it is believed that “Omar Khadr did nothing wrong.”

Here we have Mustafa Farooq, the Executive Director of the NCCM, arguing that Omar Khadr is a Canadian hero who did nothing wrong. This is bizarre and disturbing for a few reasons. First, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (formerly CAIR Canada) is one of the leading lobbying groups in the country. Heads of Federal political parties have attended their town halls; they are not a fringe organization. 

The NCCM is also heavily involved in Ontario’s school curriculum when it comes to Islamic Heritage Month, as they and their people are listed in the document multiple times and referenced as a resource. 

I bring this up because it perfectly outlines how morally bankrupt and hypocritical Farooq’s assertion that Omar Khadr “did nothing wrong” by the NCCM’s standards. One of the people frequently promoted as a role model for young Muslims is Malala Yousafzai. I think everyone can agree that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Malala is the optimal person to promote to young people, as she has fought for a girl’s rights to education, which the Taliban oppose.

The Taliban has a history of using chemical weapons and other means of terrorism in schools that have tried to extend their services to girls. Malala stood them up because of her principles, and rightfully so. She stood up to religious fanatics, and she was shot as a result.

One was a hero, while Omar was, perhaps, a casualty of perverse ideas. However, to say he “did nothing wrong” is albatross and an afront to those who perished because of his subsequent actions.