Muslim conference cancelled after Quebec objects to speakers

Mohammed Patel, Nader Abou Anas, Farid Mounir and Mohamed Francois are seen here with a banner for the event.

MONTREAL - A Muslim conference has been cancelled after the PQ provincial government objected to the participation of four speakers invited from France.

The conference, entitled Between Heaven and Earth, was to take place at the Palais des congres convention centre in downtown Montreal on September 7 and 8.

About 1,000 to 2,000 people were expected to attend the conference, which the convention centre cancelled Saturday morning due to security concerns after some groups threatened to protest against the event.

It is not clear whether the organizers will now attempt to hold the conference elsewhere.

The Independence Collective, which had organized the event, held a press conference Friday to defend itself against charges of embracing a radical view of Islam and denounced what they said was a vilification campaign against the event..

The speakers who were expected to come from France to address the conference include Mohamed Francois, president of the Information Culte Musulman, Farid Mounir, President of the Islamic Sociocultural Centre, Nader Abou Anas, president of the D’CLIC Association and Mohammed Patel an expert on legalities of Islamic finance.

The four are experienced speakers who frequently address Muslim crowds and many of their speeches can be seen on YouTube.

The Quebec authorities objected to some of their ideas, which include a critique of what they consider the sometimes too-liberal clothing habits of western women.

One speaker, Nader About Anas, had previously said that women are "servants of Allah" and are "not free to do what they want in this world."

Agnes Maltais, the provincial minister in charge of women's affairs wrote to her federal counterpart Kelly Leich on August 21, asking her to “take the measures necessary to avoid the propagation of dialogue unacceptable to Quebec women.”

Federal public safety minister Steve Blainey said Saturday that several federal departments had been looking into the case and that the Canadian Embassy in Paris had been researching the background of the speakers.

-With a file from The Canadian Press