Haroon Siddiqui

Haroon Siddiqui, C.M., O.Ont., LL.D. (born June 1, 1942) is an Indo-Canadian newspaper journalist, columnist and a former editor.

Early life and career

Born in Hyderabad, India, the oldest of six children, to a construction company proprietor, Siddiqui enjoyed what he characterizes as a secure and affectionate, "middle- to upper-class" childhood.

At Osmania University in Hyderabad he earned degrees in science and journalism. In 1963, he joined the Press Trust of India as a reporter and copy editor. Siddiqui left journalism when his father fell ill to run his company, which he did from his father’s death in 1965 until it closed in 1967.

While at the Press Trust he met Roland Michener, then Canada's High Commissioner to India who encouraged him to immigrate to Canada. By 1968 he had taken a job at the Brandon Sun in Brandon, Manitoba, reporting on municipal and provincial politics from 1968 to 1978.

In 1978, he joined the Toronto Star, becoming foreign affairs analyst in 1979, news editor in 1982 and national editor in 1985. From 1985 to 1990, Siddiqui was National Editor, responsible for coverage of federal and provincial affairs.

From 1990 to 1998, Siddiqui was the Star's editorial page editor, and on his departure from that position, he was given the title of "“editor emeritus”" and a twice-weekly column, which focused on national and international politics as well as cultural and Muslim issues. Siddiqui has written from a left-of-centre perspective on such issues as: the war in Iraq and terrorism. During his tenure The Star advocated a distinct constitutional status for Québec and protection of French minorities outside Quebec.

He is the past president of PEN Canada and chair of International PEN’s Writers-in-Exile Network. He is on the board of directors of the Calmeadow Foundation (a microcredit lender), the Canadian Club of Toronto, and the advisory board of the Ryerson University School of Journalism.

MUSLIM ISSUES

Siddiqui has authored Being Muslim; edited An English Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry (1988); assisted in Christopher Ondaatje’s Sindh Revisited (1996), following the footsteps of Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton; and contributed to Canada and Sept. 11, published by the University of Calgary (2002) and Drawing Fire: The State of Political Cartooning (1998), a colloquium of North America’s top cartoonists and editors, at the American Press Institute.

CRITICISMS

Writing in Toronto Life in June 2001, Robert Fulford maintained that "Siddiqui makes the most strenuous effort to bathe Third World countries in a soft light. No matter how outrageous its actions, a non-Western government can usually count on him for a little understanding."

HonestReporting Canada, a media watchdog group that monitors and reports on what it perceives as anti-Israel bias, accuses him of "one-sided criticism of Israel" in columns on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Critics also charge that Siddiqui harbors anti-American bias and that he is quick to dismiss the threat of Islamic terrorism or that he seeks to excuse it. Describing him as "the Toronto Star's resident Islamist," they accuse him of exploiting latent anti-Americanism in Canada to promote Islamist goals both there and abroad among them the withdrawal of Canadian forces from Afghanistan, which Siddiqui has advocated.

Siddiqui has also editorialized that journalistic freedom of speech should be subject to the edicts of Canada’s human rights commissions and has stated that "freedom of speech is not absolute and must be balanced the rights of religion and faith."

Awards and distinctions

He shared a 1983 National Newspaper Award for spot news reporting. In 1992 and column writing in 1998. Siddiqui received a Professional Man of the Year award from Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and a media award from the Canadian Islamic Congress.

In 2000, he became a member of the Order of Ontario, for crafting “a broader definition of the Canadian identity,” inclusive of our First Nations, French Canadians and newer Canadians. In 2001 he became a Member of the Order of Canada, for advocating “fairness and equality of opportunity” at home and “a broader role for Canada in the global village.”.

In 2001, Siddiqui was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from York University. In 2002, he was awarded the World Press Freedom Award by the National Press Club in Ottawa for his James Minifie Memorial Lecture at the University of Regina, warning against “creeping censorship” in Canada under media concentration.

See also

* Toronto Star
* Siddiqui
* Shaikh Siddiqui
* Osmania University

References

* [http://www.rrj.ca/issue/2002/spring/364/ Haroon and the Sea of Opinions] ("Ryerson Review of Journalism", Spring 2002)
* [http://www.canadian-universities.net/News/Press-Releases/February_10_2005_Discussion_tackles_Islamic_cartoon_debate.html on Journalism being subject to "hate laws"]
* [http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/citdiv/honours/order/order-winners00.htm#21 Haroon Siddiqui] , 2000 Order of Ontario recipients' page
* [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=6492 Haroon Siddiqui] , 2001 Order of Canada citation