I am following the machinations taking place regarding a development in Thornhill, Ontario, proposed by a Muslim consortium. The discussion has fallen into the realm of Islamophobia-it seems it is taking too long-It’s been about 5 years.
(STEVE RUSSELL / TORONTO STAR)
I live in rural Ontario. There have been attempts to develop a piece of property near me since the 1980’s. It has been bought and sold a few times. And, today, another builder wants to build. And the residents are still fighting against it. There is another piece of land not too far away where the streets are paved, the street lights are up-no houses. The developer was stopped.
There are rules for all. The DART process helps to identify what has to be submitted and the timelines. Take a look at it.Your head will spin.
Jaffari Village in Thornhill is waiting for approval to develop the land surrounding their mosque; homes, townhomes, apartments, schools. The leadership behind the development has declared they have a right to develop.
Here are some headlines regarding the proceedings in Thornhill. The project is referred to as a Muslim community complex.
“The Toronto Star headlines read : “Vaughan city council urged to support Thornhill Muslim community development, pending OMB decision”
“Muslim condo complex in Thornhill sparks heated debate”
The CBC said “Tensions high at Vaughan meeting over fate of Muslim community complex.”
February 03, 2014 a CITY TV Interviewer asked “Your housing will only be eligible for people from the Muslim community?” The President of the Jaffari Mosque Mr. Shabbir Jeraj replied: “Of course, we are building it. We are paying for it.”
Shafiq Ebrahim admitted in the early years the community was intended to be open exclusively to the Muslim community. The proposal for this latest development including the apartments and townhomes is now open to everyone, he said. Ebrahim added there have been 28 meetings over the years in trying to get the development approved.
The focal point of the neighbourhood will be the Jaffari Centre mosque. Ebrahim also stated “This is our property. We have the right to build, and we will build in accordance with the law…we are at the point where we say here’s where we’re at.”
And there’s more. According to the National Post:
“The cleric of a Muslim community group behind the proposed condo and townhouse complex in a predominantly Jewish area was one of the key figures in an Islamic school that used teaching materials that disparaged Jews and encouraged boys to keep fit for jihad.
Imam Syed Mohammed Rizvi and the East End Madrassah were the targets of a hate-crimes investigation in 2012, and although charges were not laid, a York Region police report said a review of 30 school syllabus books found portions that “challenged some of Canada’s core values” and “suggested intolerance,” even if they were not criminal.
The police report in 2012 confirmed some of the school materials originated from books published by Iranian foundations, one of which is an alleged front for the Islamic regime. The Iranian-origin passages referred to Jews as “crafty” and “treacherous,” and contrasted Islam with “the Jews and the Nazis.” Police held Imam Rizvi and Principal Masuma Jessa responsible. “As leaders in their respective roles, the two must accept responsibility for failing to appropriately screen the learning material,” the report said. “Although not held criminally responsible, the complaint has raised a legitimate concern and has prompted change.”
Children as young as 4 years old watched and learned to conduct beheadings in a play at the Islamic Jaffari Center in Thornhill.
Yet, there are those who suggest anti-Muslim sentiment is behind the opposition to the “Muslim Complex.”
Myer Siemiatycki, a professor of politics at Ryerson University stated “It certainly is unusual for a council to take four years and more to make a decision in the issue when the proponent of the proposal has so significantly altered their initial plans. He has conducted many studies on the planning issues surrounding mosques. “It seems longer and more drawn out than it should be.”
Siemiatycki said he can’t think of any historical parallels to a faith community wanting to develop the adjacent area to its place of worship, or for a development proposal being actively edited for five years and not receiving a verdict from the municipal government in that time.
Mitchell Kosny, the associate director of Ryerson’s school of urban and regional planning, told the Star the fact that the process has taken over four years is “inappropriate” and “unacceptable.” He can’t recall a development application that has taken a similar amount of time for a decision to be reached.
“Planning issues are not that complicated,” he said, noting that they are slow and rooted in a complaint-reaction process. “It doesn’t take four years.”
“I think we’re all dancing around what the issue is here,” he added. “Parking, traffic, there’s a hundred of those things, they’re all nice, gentile code for we just don’t want it here or we don’t like them.”
It seems to me that too many are prepared to weaponize Islamophobia; the fall back position when faced with adversity.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered there is a faith based community in Ontario. In the Greater Toronto Area:the Muslim-oriented community in Vaughan, the Ahmadiyya “Peace Village” of 150 semi-detached and detached houses west of Jane St. and north of Major Mackenzie Dr. It was thought to be the first community built upon the religious needs of Islamic immigrants in North America when it was built in 2000.”
And here I was under the impression that we live together, in tolerance, inclusion and accommodation. We pride ourselves on diversity, not the ghettoizing of any one group.
There are now six separate organizations concerned about the size of the development of the Jaffari Center and its effect on the environment.
City of Vaughan; The Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto (Jaffari Community Centre); Preserve Thornhill Woods Ratepayers Association; The Waldorf School; Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) A group called: The Block 10 Thornhill Woods Developers who are concerned about density; traffic; parking (2000-3000 cars come to the mosque); and the 3000 mature trees that will have to be cut down; possible damage to rare species in the area; and The Block 10 Developers Group wants to be paid back for the applicant’s portion of the tens of millions of dollars they spent on the block’s infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, sewers, etc) when they first developed Thornhill Woods.
Now, of course, there are new Liberal government environmental policies at play.
Bill C-69 reflects a broader government initiative to ensure all new legislation is subjected to a gender-based analysis.
The preamble to the bill, the Impact Assessment Act, declares that the government “is committed to assessing how groups of women, men and gender-diverse people may experience policies, programs and projects and to taking actions that contribute to an inclusive and democratic society.”
Ebrahim remains “cautiously optimistic….The project is inclusive…I don’t understand how it cannot benefit the community,” he said. “We have the right to develop.”
Well, no, they don’t have a right to develop land that they purchased. They have a right to ask for permission to build after meeting all the criteria which includes meetings with residents in the area.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: “Rabbi Tarfon used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it.”
