About a quarter of a century ago, Canadians were divided over what to do about Ernst Zundel, a Holocaust denier and hate-monger. Many said ignore him and deny him the oxygen of publicity that he craves. Others argued for exposing his lies and challenging his hate speech. The latter camp prevailed.

This week Dutch anti-Islamist Geert Wilders spoke in Ottawa, London and Toronto. At Christian College, at Eglinton Ave. and Don Mills Rd., president Charles McVety welcomed him as “a man with a prophetic message.” (McVety is the homophobe who led the 2005 Defend Marriage campaign and welcomed the election of Stephen Harper in 2006 thusly: “A lot of our friends are in government now.”)

Wilders says Islam is not a religion but a violent ideology. The Qur’an is “a fascist book,” like Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Its sale should be banned, and also the burqa/niqab. A fee of 1,000 euros a year should be imposed on hijabis. Mosque construction should be frozen. Islamic schools should be closed. Muslim immigration must be stopped.

Varieties of Hate Crime

Muslims have already ruined Europe, he says. Canadians shouldn’t let them ruin Canada — your “multiculturalism, I’m afraid, is being used as a tool to promote Islam.”

Like the anti-Catholics who claimed they had Catholic friends, and the anti-Semites who claim that some of their best friends are Jewish, Wilders proclaims his liking for Muslims. “I don’t hate Muslims. I hate Islam.”

He does not hide behind the sophistry of good Muslims vs. bad Muslims. No adherent of Islam can be moderate in his books; the only good Muslim is a non-Muslim.

Like all media-savvy self-promoters who claim they’re not being heard because of “political correctness,” he manages a level of publicity that would be the envy of a porn star.

Like the worst of demagogues, he’s divorced from reality — for example, the Bible is more “violent” than the Qur’an.

It’s not the Qur’an that says a bride who does not bleed on her wedding night should be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:2).

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