Sharia, Unacceptable in Ontario

Sharia, or Shariat Law is Islamic rule. It is practiced in countries like Pakistan and Afganistan, where State and Religion are together. In Ontario, it was officially declared today that State and Religion will continue to remain separate. It made the front page of the Toronto Star.

That makes today a day to celebrate. Many people have come to Ontario from places like Pakistan from their freedom from fundamentalist Islam and the Sharia Law, so to allow it to be used here at any level as a form of acceptable governance would be to say to those people: our government is not the democratic place you moved to, but it aspires to be a fundamentalist Islamic state; a place that accepts the Sharia Law.

If Ontario accepted the Sharia Law, then two things may take place; if a woman, child, or even "lower status" man is punished under that law, our government may not be able to punish those who executed that "justice". This may be part of the problem in countries like Pakistan, where people are fighting to separate State and Religion.

Thank God McGuinty has refused to let this law be accepted in Ontario! And I hope that the people who live here and oppose it are never killed by Islamic Fundamentalists for our beliefs. This is not your province; this is our province. We have the ability to protect our citizens, and keep all of us safe from phsyical harm. There are many people here who desire to raise the standards of living in this province for everyone who lives here, and make this a province of equality. We also all have to deal with being able to adopt here. No one culture can have an absolute rule, because we all must work together. There are many different cultures here in Ontario, and no one fundamentalist group will be allowed to sway the law in such a way that puts in peril the lives of others who live here.

I am glad that today that decision was made, and I am sure many people who left Pakistan to embrace a culture and a government that are distinctly separate from Religion and Religious Law are equally glad. Today is a day from us to celebrate the protection our government has afforded us.