Vicious media mobbing of Adil Charkaoui, in Quebec

Recently, in Canada, the combination of persistent racist fear in the Quebec nationalist movement, of broadly based Islamophobia in Quebec society at large, and of the Canadian government’s de facto policy of energetically fabricating a frenzied public paranoia of “terrorism” as the main false pretext for Canada’s new illegal war campaigns in the service of the USA (most recently against Syria), has given rise to a vicious media and institutional mobbing against Quebec’s public intellectual Adil Charkaoui.

Charkaoui is a dedicated campaigner and organizer against Quebec’s societal Islamophobia, arguably the most prominent figure in this battle. In 2003, he was intimidated by the state and jailed under a “security certificate”, the infamous secret-trial instrument implemented by compliant courts in this country (Canada, the author is Canadian). He won that case against the government, in a long and gradual battle leading to full release in 2009, largely thanks to his courage and public presence. The government has to this day refused to disclose (even to the defendant) the evidence against him, under the pretext that this would show how it gathers evidence for these secret trials. Indeed.

Charkaoui is also a teacher and a leader of community-based education in support of proud and productive Montreal Islamic youth. His community organization rents out rooms in government schools for such activities among the large range of classes that he offers.

Recently, one such school cancelled its contract to rent rooms to Charkaoui, apparently in relation to it being possible, within “three clicks” from Charkaoui’s school’s web-site to arrive at some “terrorist site”. Charkaoui was understandably outraged and went public with his complaint.

What followed was the establishment’s backlash against his being so bold as to go on the offensive, best illustrated by this incredible mainstream TV interview in which so-called journalist Anne-Marie Dussault acted like an unrelenting vicious attack dog. https://youtu.be/809dsRVfR9k (The less-complete official Radio-Canada video link is this one: https://youtu.be/eS41ElOF5BU)

The attack is not masked at all. It is a straight-up mobbing, and a most disgusting display of media bias, journalistic sophistry, and bald-faced Islamophobia. Charkaoui’s response is consistently brilliant and informed. He does not allow the toxic questions to be accepted as objective, and he does not allow himself to be victimized by this grotesque show of force.

Non-French speakers will need to await a transcript of this epic interview, which so clearly exposes what Canada and Quebec “stand for”, namely geopolitical criminality and the lies that mask Canada’s role in these crimes against peoples.

This is disgusting media at its worst. I had never seen anything like it before in Quebec. This is a sign that the Quebec intelligentsia is losing its morality. I have not heard the needed condemnation against Radio-Canada.

Denis G. Rancourt

Denis G. Rancourt was a tenured and full professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He was trained as a physicist and practiced physics, Earth sciences, and environmental science, areas in which he was funded by a national agency and ran an internationally recognized laboratory.

He published over 100 articles in leading scientific journals. He developed popular activism courses and was an outspoken critic of the university administration and a defender of Palestinian rights.

He was fired for his dissidence in 2009 by a president who is a staunch supporter of Israeli policy. He is the author of the 2013 book “Hierarchy and Free Expression in the Fight Against Racism”.