(National Post) A mass-distributed letter by Conservative leadership candidate Jim Karahalios has sparked outrage in the party over using perceived anti-Muslim rhetoric to attack an Erin O’Toole campaign official, with O’Toole calling it “bigotry” that will lead to “electoral obliteration for our Party.”
Karahalios’s letter, which was sent out both in hard copy and electronically, comes with the subject line: “Say NO to Shariah Law. STOP Erin O’Toole.” It targets O’Toole’s campaign chair Walied Soliman, a Toronto corporate lawyer who is Muslim.
As his evidence, Karahalios pointed to a 13-year-old newspaper article where Soliman answered questions from investors about Islamic financial products. (The article noted such products have three criteria: no explicit interest; transactions can’t be in areas such as gambling, pork or pornography; and can’t be deemed too high risk.)
