CANADA WELCOMES NAIK

Mumbai, June 29: An Indian Muslim televangelist recently banned from Canada for his inflammatory statements about Jews, gays, and the West, will still headline a massive Islamic conference in Toronto this weekend, addressing upwards of 10,000 attendees via video satellite.

The Journey of Faith Conference billed as North America's largest Islamic conference, and featuring personalities such as Abdur Raheem Green, who has advocated "fighting jihad"” and Sheikh Hussein Yee, who once said Jews are the extremists of the world will "go on as planned" despite Dr. Zakir Naik's exclusion from Canada, according to the event website.

"The organizers of the 3rd Annual Journey of Faith conference, regret to announce that Dr. Zakir Naik will be unable to attend this year's conference due to the uncertainty of his admission to Canada," the event homepage says. "The conference will go on as planned and Dr. Zakir Naik will be joining us via live video conferencing along with all the other speakers already scheduled."

The National Post first reported last week that Dr. Naik, president of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, has been denied a visa to enter Canada because of past comments such as "every Muslim should be a terrorist," Jews are "our staunchest enemy," and "If [Osama bin Laden] is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him."

The 44-year-old medical doctor has also said that a man is within his right to beat his wife "lightly," though in a July 2009 YouTube video he cautioned against hitting her on the face or leaving a mark.

Dr. Naik will join others who have been banned from Canada but who, through the means of technology, still manage to address large audiences here. British anti-war MP George Galloway, for example, was banned from delivering a speech in Canada last year because of his support of Gaza's Hamas government, but nonetheless delivered a high-profile speech to hundreds of supporters in a downtown Toronto church via live-feed.

Bernie Farber, CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said Dr. Naik's upcoming virtual appearance at the Journey of Faith Conference is a slap in the face to Canadian values.

"Given that the Canadian government has sent a strong message that this person is unwelcome in this country, it would have been appropriate for the organizers to keep him from speaking at the conference period," Mr. Farber said. "If this is the way they want to operate, then I think that sends a very clear message."

Dr. Naik, who was also recently banned from entering the UK and whose 16-year-old son is still slated to speak at the conference, did not respond to requests for an interview yesterday.

Conference chairman Imam Saed Rageah whose Toronto mosque, the Abu Huraira Centre, made headlines last fall after a group of young worshippers vanished and were feared to have joined a Somali militant group also declined to comment yesterday.