Incoming human rights chief said ‘terror is not an irrational strategy’

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A coalition of human rights groups have voiced their support for Canada’s embattled incoming human rights chief after three Jewish groups called for his removal over reports of his past anti-Israel statements.

The group, which includes the National Union of Public and General Employees, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, the Federation of Black Canadians and others, blamed racism for the response to Birju Dattani’s controversial comments.

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“The attempts to have Mr. Dattani — the first Muslim and racialized person appointed to this position — vacate his seat without due process is deeply concerning,” the group said in an open letter sent to Justice Minister Arif Virani on Wednesday.

“While the allegations against Mr. Dattani are concerning, this campaign against him highlights the heightened level of scrutiny he, like many Canadians, faces because of his faith and ethnic background. Mr. Dattani has responded comprehensively to the media about allegations related to his academic activities as a student 12 years ago.”

Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman said that Jewish communities across Canada are feeling vulnerable due to the normalization of antisemitism in the wake of October 7 and cannot trust Dattani to be impartial.

“If you have the arbiter of racism and human rights in this country, and people don’t feel like they’re going to get a fair hearing, then he’s the wrong guy for the job,” she said.

Dattani told National Post last week that he was confident that the investigation would “vindicate my longstanding commitment to human rights.”

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Lantsman said the investigation into Dattani’s controversial background is just the federal government’s way of “sweeping it under the rug.”

“This is one of these egregious things that goes under the radar in the summer. They have this fake internal investigation and then it goes nowhere,” she said.

Last week, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies and B’nai Brith called for Dattani’s removal over allegations that he had associated with people linked to terror groups and made antisemitic statements.

More controversial statements by Dattani continued to emerge this week.

In March 2014, Dattani spoke at Bogazici University in Turkey about the “War on Terrorism and Islamophobia.”

According to a description of the event, translated from Turkish, Dattani, who also goes by “Mujahid Dattani,” discussed whether Muslims “from various geographies” deserve the label of “terrorist.”

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“The concept of terrorism, which is used at every opportunity to deprive Islam and Muslims of all kinds of legal grounds and to disguise oppression and massacres as innocent and self-defence, not only in Palestine and Afghanistan, but even in Arakan (Myanmar), comes across with a hypocritical face,” says a description of the event. “Mujahid Dattani from the U.K. will be our guest to explain the place of this concept and the actions that fall within its scope in global legal systems.”

In January 2015, Dattani spoke again on a similar theme when he delivered a presentation on “Terrorism and the Targeting of Civilians under International Law” to the Muslim Research Forum.

“Contrary to conventional wisdom (which is far more convention than it is wisdom), terror is not an irrational strategy pursued solely by fundamentalists with politically and psychologically warped visions of a new political, religious or ideological order,” Dattani wrote in a description of his talk posted to the forum’s website. “It is a rational and well-calculated strategy that is pursued with surprisingly high success rates.”

In August 2014, Dattani also signed an open letter that was drafted by Richard Falk, the former United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories. The letter condemned Israel’s military operation against Hamas in 2014 that was sparked after the terror group kidnapped and burned alive three hitchhiking teenagers.

“Please add me to the petition,” Dattani wrote in the comments section. He asked that his title as “Barrister and PhD Student in International Law” be included.

Shortly after his public letter, Falk told Democracy Now! that Hamas embodies the “spirit of resistance” and said the group’s “politics have been directed toward long-term peaceful coexistence with Israel.”

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Dattani told National Post last week that he is the “target of unfounded allegations” and stands “resolutely behind my record.”

“For clarification, my recent apology was not an admission of wrongdoing; rather, it was an expression of empathy for those who have been distressed by these unfounded allegations,” Dattani said, noting that “Canada is a beautiful place, full of people who can see the difference between the truth and misinformation.”

Dattani’s former colleagues with the Yukon Human Rights Commission have rallied to his side and congratulated him on his ascension to lead the CHRC.

“I spoke on many panels as a graduate student with people holding a range of views. This does not mean I shared or agreed with the views of other panellists,” Dattani has said.

However, a Canadian who attended the University of Calgary at the same time as Dattani, said the incoming CHRC head regularly advocated for the boycott of Israel.

“Birju used to be, back in the day, just kind of caustic, a provocateur. Instigating. That’s kind of what he did. I was amazed to discover that he ended up having a career in human rights the way that he has,” said the alumnus, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.