TORONTO (JTA) — A Jewish group is seeking hate crimes charges against a Toronto-based Muslim website that featured a video address by former U.S. Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Duke’s video was scrubbed April 13 from Casmo.ca, the site for the Canadian Shia Muslim Organization, but the Canadian Jewish Congress is pursuing charges under Canada’s hate crimes laws.
In its letter to police, the Canadian Jewish Congress calls for a probe of Casmo.ca, which describes itself as the "national platform of Shia Muslims in Canada."
The CJC pointed out that the 12-minute video, in which Duke espoused conspiracy theories about "Zionist running dogs," remained on the site for two days after it was exposed by the National Post newspaper. For a brief period on April 13, a second Duke video was posted to the site.
"The decision to remove the video two days late doesn’t hold much water," Bernie Farber, the CJC’s CEO, told the Post. "In fact, they put up a second video and I can only assume they were getting some inside pressure, not the least of which was a police complaint."
Duke, a former KKK grand wizard, played a key role in helping to spread the Klan through Canada.
On the site, the Canadian Shia Muslim Organization says it "supports multiculturalism" and "interfaith dialogue."
In an editorial, the online journal The American Muslim accused the group of joining "the Muslim lunatic fringe."
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