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Trevor Noah Will Still Appear At This Islamic Group’s Toronto Fundraiser

(Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Comedy Central)

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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An anti-radical Islam watchdog says the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” will be furthering Islamic extremism if he attends a fundraiser in Toronto sponsored by the charity Islamic Relief.

In a Tuesday op-ed in the National Post, Islamist Watch president Sam Westrop says Trevor Noah needs to cancel his appearance at the May 20 event because Islamic Relief is “financially linked with a number of terrorist groups, and regularly gives platforms to preachers who incite hatred against women, Jews, homosexuals and Muslim minorities.”

The event has been advertised as “an afternoon reflecting on embracing our values as Muslims and as Canadians – hope, faith, and solidarity.”

Islamic Relief is dominated by Muslim clerics who “publicly praise and practice interfaith dialogue, but…behind closed doors, many of them promote hatred and incite violence,” says Westrop, who maintains the vitriol surfaces “once he microphones are switched off.”

Noah is slated to speak with Nouman Ali Khan, whom the news release for the event describes as a “noted theologian.” He is also described in the Post article as as someone who expresses “repugnant views about homosexuals and abusing women” as he meets with Islamic extremists like Zakinthos Naik, who has suggested that “every Muslim should be a terrorist. The Canadian government banned Naik from entering the country in 2010.

Westrop asks, “With friends like Naik, then, what exactly is Nouman Ali Khan teaching the next generation of Muslim clerics?

The article also examines Khan’s statements on Islam, which include allowing his followers to “whip” prostitutes and suggesting that Muslim women should not object to passages in the Koran that justify hitting an unfaithful wife.

“When intolerant and extreme Muslims are given polite cover by non-Muslims, especially prominent ones, it only further silences the voices of moderate Muslims,” Westrop writes.

The British chapter of Islamic Relief is under review by that country’s Charity Commission after reports that the group was sponsoring Yadira Qadhi to come to the U.K. on a fundraising trip. Qadhi has gained notoriety by calling Shia Muslims “filth” denying the Holocaust and encouraging the stoning of adulterers.

Islamic Relief USA does have a 92.92 rating, out of 100, by Charity Navigator.

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