Kudos and a question for column on hero

Re It takes a superhuman feat for a Black Muslim migrant to be deemed worthy, Online, May 29 The headline on Shree Paradkar’s column tells me all I need to know about her: that she is a right-thinking, honest and brave woman to mention that the hero is a Muslim.

Most media have avoided mentioning he is a Muslim, but I am sure they would have highlighted his Muslim identity if he were alleged to be a terrorist.

I am a fan of the amazing Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, and now I hold Shree Paradkar in the same high esteem. Meer Sahib, London, Ont. Shree Paradkar is right: It’s not enough for a Black man, in this case a Black Muslim man, to be human. He had to be superhuman to be considered worthy of simply existing in France. Not a single media outlet that I came across has mentioned Mamoudou Gassama’s faith.

Muslims only get undivided attention and unlimited coverage when they are accused of creating mischief. Even when they are exonerated from the mischief, it becomes unworthy to report.

But the good things they do, the lives they save, whether in hospital operating rooms or climbing buildings like Spider-Man, faith is buried in the sand. It is as if would contradict the version the media tries to promote and sell that Muslims are always prone to do bad things.

Kudos to Paradkar for raising an issue that makes many media outlets uncomfortable to even mention, let alone discuss. This is why the Star and its columnists have attained the respect they deserve.

There many similar stories of Muslims’ contributions but, unfortunately, there are few honest journalists like Paradkar with a sense of integrity to cover them. Abubakar N. Kasim, Toronto Shree Paradkar makes some valid comments, but omits others. Ideally, every country should embrace a policy that smooths the way for refugees to become full citizens. But Canada, the U.S. and other New World countries are accustomed to immigration; they were built on it. France and the old countries of Europe are not. Rightly or wrongly, they fear that immigrants will dilute their millennia-old cultures, so they tend to be more selective. So yes, Mamoudou Gassama was Black and Muslim. But that just happens to be where the refugees are coming from. Is Ms. Paradkar absolutely certain the situation would not have been the same had he been white and Christian, but still a refugee? Ronald Weir, Toronto