Comments made on local social media sites are being viewed by the area's Islamic religious leader as racially discriminating. The comments have connections to a mayoral candidate in the Lac La Biche County municipal elections.
She admits it was a “brutal post”, and Lac La Biche County mayoral candidate Gail Broadbent-Ludwig has spent two weeks distancing herself from her husband’ s recently-documented social media rant that takes aim at the Muslim culture.
“Everyone is responsible for their own post. I am not responsible for anybody else, ever,” she told the POST just days before the October 16 municipal election day.
Portions of the posting, which were put on Peter Ludwig’ s facebook page on September 7, include crude humour about names of businesses that would be put up beside mosques in every ‘tolerant’ community. His comments have been shared locally through social media pages, raising concerns and questions not only about the mayoral race, but about racial divides within the community. Ludwig starts the posting with a comment about cultural tolerance ...
“I support a mosque being built anywhere in Canada. I think it should be the goal of every Canadian to be tolerant regardless of their religious beliefs. To promote tolerance, I would also propose that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque. We could call one of the clubs, which would be gay, The Turban Cowboy and the other, a topless bar, would be called ..."
It finishes several sentence later with ... “Yes we should promote tolerance, and you can do your part by passing this on. Lol pretty funny”
Many people have not seen the humour. The backlash on social media from people offended by the comments has been wide-spread. Some have even called on religious leaders in the community to organize an inter-denominational rally on tolerance in a community well-known for its diverse range of cultures.
And it is that long-standing history of cultural diversity that Broadbent-Ludwig says has caused her husband’ s comments to be taken out of context. She says her family has been a part of the community for decades, and cultural sensitivity has become far more heightened than it once was.
“When I look back when we were growing up here, the things that we said, you would be ripped to shreds today. And everyone just said whatever and we never thought of it as being mean to each other,” she said, explaining her husband’ s post as an attempt at humour that has fallen victim to that heightened sense of cultural sensitivity. “He did put ‘lol’ at the end, funny ... I do strongly believe that the people in our community are very intelligent and they know me. I’ ve been here since I was two. They know what I stand for and they’ ve seen the relationships I’ ve had with ... everyone. They’ ve seen the diversity within my own immediate family.”
While she accepts that the comments may not have been well thought-out, she says the uproar has become a distraction to the final days of a close mayoral race. Broadbent-Ludwig says the election shouldn’ t hinge on social media comments by her family member, it should be based on the person running.
“This is me. You know who I am. This is a distraction and let’ s get back to the real issues. Period. It is that simple for me. I’ m for our community,” she said, continuing to distance herself from her husband’ s comments, but still maintaining the belief the comments have been taken out of context. “To paint me with that same brush is putting out a distraction. You are trying to discredit me the same way you are saying this man is discrediting you.”
The Imam of Lac La Biche’ s Al-Kareem Mosque says the real discredit is to the community and the people of Islam.
“The facebook post is anti-islamic. It is taking Islamic religious terms and putting them into a negative context,” Imam Mazhar Mahmood told the POST Sunday, going further to say the comments fall in line with the contents of a federal government private members bill that is currently being studied as a doorway to anti-Islamaphobia federal legislation. “For people who want goodness and unity, posts of this kind are a crime. Yes, it is a hard word to use - crime, but there is Islamaphobia legislation, so this can go against that law.”
He said the use of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed’ s name in Ludwig’ s facebook post makes it a racially-charged comment.
“They’ ve used certain terms ... Prophet Mohammed... in a context of naming a bar, which is really really negative,” he said.
Locally, the Imam said Ludwig's comments - and some other recent social media comments from area residents targeting the Muslim population -have put a blemish on what he has seen as an otherwise well-balanced community of tolerance.
“Some people who have come to me are a bit surprised, because they’ ve never seen this rhetoric prevailing in Lac La Biche where they have really only seen unity. So when they see that, there is a shock. There is a shock to such a town where we are ... integrated and have been for generations,” he said. “From the majority of Canadians and the majority of the inhabitants of Lac La Biche, I’ ve seen nothing but peace and tolerance. I’ ve never ever personally received negative comments or looks based on how I look. So yes, this is troubling.”
Although Peter Ludwig’ s name is attached to the posting, the wording of the 200-word commentary is more than seven years old and was first authored in part by a Fox News host named Greg Gutfield during an interview with former Fox News conspiracy theorist and program host Glenn Beck in 2010.
The comment, or portions of it, are prevalent on internet sites, with Google most recently highlighting 2,000 instances of it on pages ranging from humour sections to anti-Islam awareness and to hard-line anti-immigration websites.
No matter how the facebook posting has affected some residents, Broadbent Ludwig says it will be up to the voters to decide what they believe.
“People should be voting based on ... who aligns with what your thoughts are for our future. Period,” she said. “Who do you feel is going to be in the best position to do that? And then go out and vote and you will have your say.”
At the Lac La BIche Mosque, Imam Mahmood said he too hopes people will have their say when it comes to the issue of tolerance within the community. Despite what he sees as a rise of racist sentiment, he hopes the community can rally to overcome it.
“I think just getting to know one and other is something we can do. Many already do know about other religions, but we could be having sessions to promote unity and peace. We would need events such as those to be at the forefront to prevail,” said the Imam. “Even when just a few people get together with positive ideas, that can tackle mountains of negativity.”
