National Council of Canadian Muslims' letter to the College of Law regarding John Gormley tweet
The National Council of Canadian Muslims "welcomes the steps taken by the College of Law to address the highly offensive and Islamophobic tweet posted by John Gormley, an adjunct professor at the College..."
In light of the steps taken by the College of Law in response to the John Gormley tweet, the National Council of Canadian Muslims sent the following letter of appreciation to Acting Dean, Beth Bilson.
December 21, 2015
Dear Dean Bilson:
Re: Offensive online comments by John Gormley, Q.C.
We write to you on behalf of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). The NCCM is an independent, non-partisan and non-profit advocacy organization representing the public interests of Canadian Muslim communities for over 15 years.
Many members of the NCCM are lawyers and legal academics, and the chair of the NCCM’s Board of Directors is a graduate of the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan. We have been made aware of recent events involving John Gormley, an adjunct professor with the College.
Our organization welcomes the steps taken by the College of Law to address the highly offensive and Islamophobic tweet posted by John Gormley, an adjunct professor at the College. Such hateful messages only serve to harm community cohesion and the fostering of an inclusive environment for all students and faculty.
We were reassured by your letter of December 9, 2015 to the College community as well as by the December 4th letter from several faculty members. These public pronouncements were particularly important as they reinforced the College’s commitment to inclusiveness and mutual understanding and its rejection of anti-Muslim bigotry.
In light of these developments, the NCCM would welcome an opportunity to open a dialogue with the College of Law and its members on diversity issues, particularly as they relate to Islam and Canadian Muslims. We also stand ready to offer the NCCM’s expertise and assistance as it relates to these matters.
Thank you for your leadership on this important issue.
Yours sincerely,
Ihsaan Garde, Executive Director, NCCM
Kashif A. Ahmed JD, Board Chair, NCCM
CC: Prof. Brent Cotter; Prof. Sarah Burningham; Prof. Clayton Bangsund; Prof. Sarah Buhler; Prof. Ron Cuming; Prof. Patricia Farnese; Prof. Robin Hansen; Prof. Felix Hoehn; Prof. John Kleefeld; Prof. Tamara Larre; Prof. Ken Norman; Prof. Kim Pate; Prof. Marilyn Poitras; Prof. Lucinda Vandervort; Prof. Keir Vallance; Prof. Barbara von Tigerstrom; Prof. Wanda Wiegers; Prof. Norman Zlotkin