A new party has formed in Ontario:The Islamic Party of Ontario. There has been some controversy regarding its platform which included comments about the LGBTQ2 community which go against our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Islamic Party policy attacks the community. As of publication, more than 4300 people have shared the policy. Bernie Farber, Evan Bagord, and Amira Elghawaby have been made aware of these comments and sent out the following statement.
Canadian Anti-Hate Network @antihateca
Columnists at the Toronto Sun, far-right groups, Maxime Bernier, and others, have been agitating over the creation of the ‘Islamic Party of Ontario’.
Its platform is anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+. Jawed Anwar, its creator, previously used the Islamic Party of Ontario site to support the Ontario PC Party, specifically Tanya Granic Allen’s efforts against sex-ed curriculum, and to advocate against gender identity, which he calls “liberal fascism”.
There are no indications that it has any support – and certainly not enough support to gather the 1000 signatures to register as a political party in Ontario. As of now Anwar’s Facebook page has 41 likes and his Twitter account has 141 followers, almost all of them critics, not supporters. To make it out to be a significant threat at present time is fearmongering.
We will continue to monitor Anwar’s project, which we oppose on principle
Bernie Farber added his own tweet 
I’m not sure what this Islamic Party of Ontario is really all about. That noted given its rather extreme posture it bears watching. Here is @antihateca statement… @CIJAinfo @JSpaceCanada @ARCCollective @bnaibrithcanada @nccm
It bears watching? That’s it?
Rather than speak up against these egregious statements made by Jawed Anwar, Farber is belittling the party and associating it with the Ontario Conservative party. Farber seems to be far more concerned about attacking the Conservative right than protecting the gay community from hate. He appears to be more concerned about a fearmongering backlash against the Muslim community than standing with the gay community against the hate. Pinkwashing? Why is hate against the LGBTQ2 community not important enough for Farber and his cohorts to respond?
The party is small, he says. Yet similar ideas are widely spread in the area of Thorncliffe where the office of the Islamic Party is located. Moreover, Jawed Anwar took an active part alongside thousands of Thorncliffe residents in their fight against the Liberal sex-education curriculum. The Thorncliffe Parents Association in Scarborough, Ontario introduced itself as “a grass roots” organization in May, 2015. As of January 2, 2019 the number of Likes for the Facebook page of the Thorncliffe Parents Association reached 1,452.
Here are their concerns about the sex-education curriculum implemented by the Ontario Liberal government, led by former premier Kathleen Wynne, which were shared widely:
November 9, 2018 – “… You can’t leave your old strategy of bringing LGBTQ always in the middle of our discussion, so you can have more attention and support. Have I mentioned at any place that who has more or less rights? My dear parents sends their children Schools to learn Math, Science and Language. They don’t like filthy stuff to inject in their tender brains. Basically it was Ben-Kathleen’s agenda to morally corrupt the youth which is falling down soon. I think you are a teacher but unfortunately trapped under their filthy plan and think that new curriculum is the only survival of our community issues. I wish if you have studied it thoroughly, then you would have not be a part of Ben Levin system. The curriculum encourages as young as 11 year old child to find their partner and recommend to plan for romantic dating. It forces normal children to identify and re-investigate their gender. It teaches them non-sense of gender fluidity so a child can never be certain on their gender. It recommends youth to identify their gender by masturbat[e]….. To me its a full of Ben-Levin and Kathleen’s non-sense and nothing to do with Canadian Children. I recommend them to keep their sexual preference to their bed rooms and avoid making youth confused and stressed. I hope I have conveyed you clearly and request you not to waste our time any further. Instead School should return to their basics and they have to.”
July 11, 2018 – “No Kathleen No. You under estimated the power or parents and the light of Truth.
Kathleen you kept relying on your pedophile fellows. And your evil ideas. You took the nasty things out from your own bedroom and tried to spread the filth in mind of our innocent little kids. God will never forgive you. We will never forgive you. Our generations will never forgive you. You became the lessons for others.The anti LGBTQ sentiments are not limited to the Muslim community in Thorncliffe. Senior Canadian Imams and Islamic literature available at bookstores/ dawah booths promote the Islamic ruling against LGBTQ, including the death penalty under Shariah Law. Here is an example:
“The Hadd [fixed punishment] of homosexuality is stoning to death. The methods of killing them (the two who committed the homosexual act) that have been related from the Companions have differed. From among them, there were those who burned them with fire. Others among them killed them by stoning them with stones. Ibn ‘Abbas said about them. “The highest building in the village should be sought, then they should be thrown from it upside down (i.e. on their heads). Then they should be stoned after that.” Excerpts from the book Minhaj-Al-Muslim by Abu Bakr Al-Jazairy (purchased at the Islamic Circle of North America’s bookstore in Toronto).”
Farber and CAHN say they will “monitor” the situation.
That’s nice. When Beth Tikvah was planning to be the venue for a right of centre conference, there was no talk of monitoring. Farber threatened the Rabbi for the crime of providing a venue. The Synagogue withdrew out of fear for the congregants and the building. But the actual attacks on the LGBTQ2 community don’t warrant the same passion or compassion. Why?
At the very least, how about a tweet to Jawed Anwar that he is a homophobe? Farber called Rob Ford by that crude name in 2014. 
In 2011 Farber had no problem attacking Rabbi Kaplan, the popular spiritual leader of Chabad Flamingo, for alleged homophobic comments. Farber shared his views that the Rabbi might not be acceptable as a chaplain with York Regional Police (YRP).The Rabbi was cleared.
There’s something about Farber and his anti-hate organization that do not compute. Hate is hate. If your organization fights hate in Canada then it must fight all hate-equally.
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.”
