Jewish groups warn of antisemitic past of Islamic conference speakers

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Two Jewish groups are calling on organizers of a large Islamic conference scheduled for downtown Toronto this weekend to cancel two planned speakers, citing previous statements deemed antisemitic.

Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) is an annual convention that, over two decades, has become one of North America’s largest Muslim meetings.

This year, 32 speakers are scheduled over three days with an expected audience of more than 40,000 from Dec. 20 to Dec. 23.

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Several speakers on the schedule have been criticized over the years for their stance on women’s rights and gay rights, and for advocating for Sharia law, but this year two speakers have brought particular concern from the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, a charitable organization, and Tafsik Organization, a Jewish civil rights group.

“In our ongoing efforts to foster positive interfaith relations, uphold Canadian values, and combat hatred in all its forms, we wish to bring to your attention the scheduled participation of two speakers,” officials from the two groups say in a letter sent to conference organizers and provided to National Post.

The letter objects to the participation of two American speakers: Imam Yasir Qadhi and Imam Omar Suleiman.

“We have come across troubling information regarding antisemitic messages shared by both individuals,” the organizations say in their letter.

“Hatred has no place in our society, and it must be addressed unequivocally. We strongly urge you to reconsider and revoke the invitations extended to these speakers due to their public expressions of antisemitism.

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“Their presence at the convention could further divide Canadian society and undermine the goodwill we strive to build among our communities.”

Organizers of the RIS conference said the letter’s concerns are taken seriously but said they remain confident the list of speakers will pose no problems.

“We at RIS unequivocally stand against all forms of hate, and carefully vet speakers to only include those who are committed to the pursuit of peace and harmony,” RIS organizers said in a statement.

“Speakers included in the program are recognized for their scholarship, their adherence to law, and promotion of moral values. RIS organizers and speakers are clear in our stance against hate in all forms, including but not limited to islamophobia, antisemitism, racism and xenophobia.”

RIS said invited speakers agree to adhere to a conference instruction package that includes: “We will not allow for any speech that can be deemed as hate speech to be expressed from our platform and request your support in making sure that all remarks are carefully expressed. Also, any support to organizations that are listed by the Canadian Government as ‘Terrorist’ or are ‘Banned’ in Canada, will not be permitted.”

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RIS acknowledged some speakers have previously faced criticism.

“While we understand that speakers invited may have made statements in the past that may be concerning or controversial, our team has verified that those do not reflect current views and have since been clarified and/or recanted,” the RIS statement said.

Qadhi, who lives in Texas, also rejects the letter’s concerns, although he said he did go on a rant 23 years ago denying the Holocaust, a time when millions of Jews were exterminated by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, for which he has since learned from, recanted, and apologized.

Qadhi is the dean of the Islamic Seminary of America, a Texas-based post-secondary religious school. He is unusual in having received his own Islamic seminary education in Saudi Arabia as well a doctorate from the U.S. Ivy League university of Yale.

His comments in 2001 in London, England, sparked outrage at the time. He was recorded saying “Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews,” and recommended a book about the Holocaust “hoax.” Some years afterwards, he joined other imams and rabbis on a trip to the remains of two Nazi concentration camps — Auschwitz and Dachau — and was moved by the experience.

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“My track record for the last two and half decades speaks for itself, and I have worked with many groups, Christian, Jewish and non-religious, in many aspects of civic society and interfaith dialogue,” Qadhi said.

“Additionally, and directly as a result of my own mistake, I have been a very vocal critic of antisemitism, and have continuously educated the Muslim community about the dangers of stereotyping and spreading hatred of an entire peoples. While I am a critic of specific policies of the country of Israel, even as I criticize, I continuously remind Muslims to differentiate between the policies of a nation-state, and the people who belong to a historic and ancient faith.”

He said he will not cancel his attendance at the RIS conference, which he attends most years, and he will use the platform “to once again preach tolerance and acceptance of a diverse civil society.”

Qadhi is scheduled to speak three times over the three-day conference.

Suleiman is an American Islamic scholar and founder of the Texas-based Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. In 2018, CNN named him one of “25 influential American Muslims.” He has a huge online presence, including 3.1 million followers on Instagram and 2.8 million followers on Facebook.

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Suleiman is not scheduled to attend the conference in person but will appear virtually, according to the conference program.

The letter of complaint notes comments Suleiman made in 2013 when discussing an Islamic hadith about the “Bani Isra’il,” often translated as the Children of Israel. Suleiman summarized the hadith in a video: “If it was not for Bani Israel, meat would not decay… food would never become stale.”

The letter says: “He went on to imply that the decay of food is a blessing resulting from their existence, and later suggested that the Quran uses stories of the Bani Israel to instruct Muslims on moral conduct.”

Suleiman could not be reached for comment. Emails sent to the Yaqeen Institute also went unanswered prior to deadline.

Suleiman is scheduled to join four other speakers for a session titled “A Free Palestine, Dream or Reality?: What We Can Do Here and Now.” Qadhi and Suleiman are then scheduled to appear together with two other speakers for a session called “An Ummah Awakened.”

The letter expressing concern over the two speakers’ past statements is signed by Andria Spindel, executive director of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF), and Amir Epstein, executive director of Tafsik.

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Spindel said the organizations were alerted by a community member who had seen postings by the two speakers online. “CAEF’s concern is that speakers with a history of posting or speaking against the Jewish faith or Jews in general, may promote more antipathy towards Jews, here in Canada. Antisemitism is on the rise so it is a serious concern,” she said.

The annual RIS conference occasionally draws heat for views of some speakers but also attracts mainstream interest, including political leaders from the three main political parties.

In 2012, Justin Trudeau was criticized for giving a keynote speech at that year’s RIS conference, when he was a Liberal leadership candidate, as one of the conference sponsors was a Palestinian aid charity that had its charitable status revoked for funding organizations linked to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.

In 2018, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spoke at the RIS conference, a year after Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne did, and, in 2021, then-Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole also addressed it.

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