Terrorism  Not only were thousands killed as a result of terrorist attacks in the U.S., in Canada minority groups, in particular the Canadian Islamic community, have been victimized by acts of violence and threats. School children have been threatened; mosques have been fire bombed and businesses vandalized. Many Canadians are in fear of their own lives in Canada.

Eid-Ul Adha  Speaker, Canadians of the Muslim faith are celebrating Eid-Ul Adha, one of the major festivals of Islam. The festival is held each year to coincide with the pilgrimage to Mecca which itself is a major tenet of the Islamic faith. Eid-Ul Adha is also a time for cultural and social gathering with family and friends.

Charities Registration (Security Information) Act  He arrived in Montreal in 1994 and claimed refugee status at the airport, describing himself as a suspected Islamic terrorist. He was fingerprinted, and guess what? He was set free. He collected welfare for most of the five years. He was not deported after he was arrested for theft. Later he was arrested for pickpocketing elderly women and set free again.

Norouz  Families meet to share in celebratory meals, gifts are exchanged and special prayers are recited for good luck in the new year. Norouz is a cultural festival that is part of Islam's respect for pluralism and diversity and symbolizes hope and new beginnings. The festival is characterized by common sentiments of joy, renewal and hope and brings many Muslims together, united by a shared heritage and allegiance.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, Islam encourages man to live a life blessed with honesty, mercy, courage, patience and politeness. The Taliban government in Afghanistan, twisting and torturing the Quran, has embarked on a demolition campaign to destroy two monumental Buddha statues that date back to the second and fifth centuries.

Muslim Community  This festival is held each year to coincide with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, a major tenet of Islam and a journey all Muslims must hope to make at least once in their lives. I am pleased once again to invite members of this House and the other place to attend the sixth annual Eid ul-Adha ceremony here on Parliament Hill.

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, the civilized world was fixated when Pakistan detonated the so-called Islamic bomb. At the same time a number of MPs received letters from the Religious Liberties Commission and the Ahmadi movement in Islam. The Ahmadi letter anticipates that changes will be made to the constitution of Pakistan which would make it a violation for Ahmadis to keep the holy Koran in their homes.

Iranian Revolutionary Court  I call on Iranian authorities to vacate the convictions and release the accused, the whole in accordance with Iranian justice and Islamic law.

Presence In Gallery  I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in our gallery of His Excellency, Mr. Dieng Boubou Farba, Speaker of the Senate of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

Recognition Of Crimes Against Humanity Act  For the record they are: Association for Learning and Preserving of the History of WWII in Asia, ALPHA; Belarusan Canadian Coordinating Committee; Buddhist Communities of Greater Toronto; Canadian Arab Federation; Canadian Islamic Congress; Canadian Ukrainian Immigrant Aid Society; Council of the Muslim Community of Canada; Cypriot Canadian Federation; Federation of Associations of Canadians Tamils; Federation of Canadian Turkish Associations; Hellenic Canadian Congress; Hellenic Committee for Human Rights and National Issues: Latvian National Federation of Canada; National Association of Canadians with Origins in India; National Federation of Pakistani Canadians; Palestine Heritage Canada; Pan African Movement of Canada; Serbian National Shield Society of Canada; Slovenian National Federation; Toronto Kurdish Community and Information Centre; Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association; Ukrainian Canadian Congress; Ukrainian National Federation of Canada; and Ukrainian Women's Organization of Canada.

Middle East  Ordinary people have suffered since the gulf war in 1991 but Saddam continues to live in luxury. The Islamic Humanitarian Service appealed to the prime minister to oppose the whims of the United States. They have asked that Canada maintain an independent foreign policy and stay out of the conflict.

Pakistan  There have been months of internal strife in that country, with complaints of corruption, repression and growing Islamic fundamentalism. In this context we must remember that Pakistan has had several military governments in the past and that its political culture is complex. The official opposition supports the restoration of the democratic government in Pakistan.

Algeria  Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The ceasefire called for recently by the Islamic Salvation Army did not materialize. In fact, it was not respected at all by the Armed Islamic Group, also known as the GIA, which continues to slaughter women and children. Does the minister intend to pursue the suggestion made by a French group, Médecins du monde, asking that the United Nations intervene in order to put an end to this Algerian crisis that is costing the lives of many men, women and children?

Eid-Ul-Fitr  Over one billion Muslims worldwide, including nearly 500,000 here in Canada, use Eid-Ul-Fitr to give prayers of thanks, celebrate with friends and family, and rejoice in the love of God and of course Islam. On behalf of this House, I extend our warmest best wishes to the Canadians of Islamic faith on the conclusion of Ramadan and on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr. I also want to take this opportunity to remind members here in this House and in the other place that they are warmly invited to join members of the diplomatic corps and Muslims who are gathering here on Parliament Hill this evening for an Eid-Ul-Fitr celebration.

Petitions  Speaker, the many Canadian citizens who have signed this petition are lobbying the government to recognize that the Islamic republic of Iran is witnessing a worsening in human rights practices, and yet the Government of Canada considers it a safe country and still deports people to Iran. The people who have signed this petition feel strongly that Iran should lose its status as a safe country and that the Government of Canada should not be deporting people to that country.