Campbell Baptist Church hates Islam?

Anti-Islamic lecture cancelled by church

Pastor defends actions to standing-room only audience

Dalson Chen, Windsor Star

Published: Friday, January 19, 2007

A Windsor church that drew heated criticism last week for hosting the anti-Islamic lecture of a purported former Muslim terrorist cancelled his second speech Thursday night to give the church's embattled leader a chance to defend himself.

"First and foremost, I am a Christian," proclaimed Pastor Donald McKay before a capacity crowd at Campbell Baptist Church.

"As a Christian, I am also under a very heavy mandate to do my part in defending this great country of ours -- this dominion of Canada -- from any attacks, either overt or incipient," he said."

Zachariah Anani speaks to 23-year-old Windsor Muslim Gabriel Keresztes at Campbell Baptist Church Jan. 18, 2007.

Jason Kryk, Windsor Star

McKay said he stands in defence of Canadian liberties, freedoms, "our Canadian way of life" and "our values" and promised to "jealously guard these things from being overtaken, from being overthrown."

Controversy has dogged the church since Jan. 11, when McKay arranged a lecture by 49-year-old Lebanon-native Zachariah Anani -- billed as a man who had "killed hundreds of people in the name of Allah" before converting to Christianity.

Under the title The Deadly Threat of Islam, Anani accused Islamic doctrine of advocating violence against non-believers, especially Christians and Jews. McKay himself described Islamic doctrine as "vicious" and "oppressive," and warned of its spread in Windsor.

The second lecture of the series was scheduled under the title Could Jihad Be Coming to Your Neighbourhood?

But on Thursday night, McKay announced that Anani would not speak as planned, citing "distressing comments made in the media about his citizenship."

"We certainly would not want to put his citizenship or any other person's citizenship -- Canadian citizenship -- in jeopardy," McKay said.

Instead of Anani's speech, McKay launched into a sermon on the Christian faith.

In speaking of jihad, McKay recited a list of attacks made by Islamic terrorists in the last 25 years. "There is a militant form of jihad that all Canadians -- irrespective of ethnicity, irrespective of their background -- should be concerned about."

But McKay followed by stating his focus as the "internal kind" of jihad, and the nature of man as a sinner.

"There's a lot of things we could talk about tonight," McKay said. "The issues that are ultimately important in life are spiritual issues, and eternal issues."

No question period followed McKay's sermon, and he quickly exited the hall after ending the meeting.

The change in format surprised the audience of around 550 people.

"I wanted to listen to this bad guy who created this mess," said Windsor Muslim Saeeb Chaudhary, 53. "Where's he at? Everyone has a question."

Mustafa Omar, 30, said he was left unsatisfied by the event. "I thought there was going to be some discussion, OK?" he said. "So (McKay) said what he had to say and he muted everybody by leaving. We can't talk to the wall."

But Gabriel Keresztes, a Muslim convert who attended last week's lecture, said he wasn't disappointed by the cancellation. "Everyone wanted peace. That's all we wanted," said the 23-year-old Windsor resident.

"God knows what their intentions were from the beginning. I don't think they accomplished what they wanted because the Windsor community is united." Keresztes said. "God knows best."

For more than an hour after the sermon, scores of people continued to debate about the Christian and Muslim faiths in clusters throughout the church.

"That's what discussion should be like," Keresztes said. "Gentle, intellectual."

Although he made no speech, Anani fielded questions from members of the public in an impromptu circle in one the church's back rooms.

Anani said he doesn't see the change in format as a concession to critics. "Not at all," he said. "I would never back down. In 32 years up until now, I have never backed down, and I never will."

According to Anani, he agreed not to lecture in order to give McKay a platform to "correct" what has been said about him. "He was attacked viciously, so he has a right to answer to that."

Asked about the future of the lecture series, which was to include a speech Jan. 25 entitled Why the Islamic Faith is Indefensible, McKay was non-committal. "People will just have to come and see."

Protesters stationed themselves outside the church before the event. Tory James carried a placard with the words "Be afraid.... Be very afraid of bigots."

James said "it goes without saying" that the lecture series preached bigotry. "It's bigotry of the highest order."