A bit more on Jawaad Faizi, the Canadian journalist who was assaulted at his home by two men who were upset Faizi wrote about Islam.  It turns out Faizi is sure the attackers came from the Pakistan-based Islamist organization Minhaj-ul-Quran. The two assailants were upset Faizi wrote about the leader of the group, Mr. Tahir-ul-Qadri.

Perhaps the strangest item in this entire ordeal is what Faizi wrote to challenge Tahir-ul-Qadri.  According to Faizi, “Tahir-ul-Qadri told his followers he had written the Prophet Mohammed’s name on the surface of the moon,” and Faizi wrote that he doubts he would have the ability to do so.  Therefore challenging whether or not Tahir-ul-Qadri could write anything on the moon is enough to get assaulted.

Harassing phone calls into the office of The Pakistan Post, the Canadian-based newspaper Faizi works for, were upset that Faizi is not a Muslim, rather that he works for Christians.  There’s that, or maybe he just thought it is an incredibly stupid thing for Tahir-ul-Qadri to say he wrote Muhammad’s name on the moon.  It says something about his followers, does it not?

However these acts of intimidation are not unique.

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all,” said Saleem Samad, editor of the Toronto-based Weekly Durdesh. “I’ve also had similar experiences.”

Mr. Samad was forced to leave Bangladesh in 2004 after his writings there provoked a wave of intimidation measures and threats. Since coming to Canada, he said, he received threatening calls after writing about Islamic terrorism, while some of his fellow journalists have received threats after reporting on the Tamil Tigers.

“I know these people, they are very intolerant,” he said. “Even if they are in Canada, their mindset doesn’t change. They’re intolerant about political opinion, religious opinion, you name it.”

Faizi is resilient, which is refreshing in the face of people who would rather believe the leader of their group is an astronaut.