Mohamed Elmasry () ( born December 24, 1943 ) is a Canadian engineering professor, imam, and has been a leader in the Canadian Muslim community.

Elmasry has authored and co-authored more than 500 research papers and 16 books on integrated circuit design and design automation, as well as having several patents to his credit.

" Fatah blasted Elmasry, stating that " his is a classic threat to label anyone as an apostate and then marginalize them ," ... " and this is what Mr. Elmasry has done by listing me as the top anti-Islam Muslim.

Elmasry has asserted that the war against terror is actually being used to oppress Muslims as a whole saying that:

Regarding a potential American attack on Iran, Elmasry has written that " It is all part of a long-planned Bush and Co. agenda and that is why you won ’ t find a single good word in the American mainstream media about Iran — none, nil, zero.

Elmasry has stated his opposition to Osama bin Laden calling him " a lunatic, a fanatic " and accusing him and his lieutenants of " endangering the well-being, even the lives of many Muslims who are living in the West " and whose " religious rhetoric will probably feed into anti-Islam sentiments that already existed before Sept. 11 and have been on the rise since Sept.

Elmasry has written that Hezbollah " is actually a legitimate Lebanese Shi ' a Islam political party organized around a variety of roles and functions, just as are many other political parties.

Elmasry wrote that the Canadian Government should " review its 2002 decision to place Hezbollah and Hamas on its list of banned alleged terrorist organizations " because doing so " is an unconscionable act of hypocrisy and a mockery of justice " since Canada has not placed Israel on the same list.

Elmasry has been outspoken in opposition to Islamophobia stating that " Today's Islamophobia and yesterday's anti-Semitism are starkly similar " and expressing fear that at the parallels between historic anti-Semitism in Europe and modern anti-Muslim sentiment in the West.

Elmasry responded by stating that Islam has no punishment for denouncing the religion, its holy book, or Muhammad, and he dismissed as " nonsense " the notion that his words could be construed as a death sentence.

In response to accusations of anti-Semitism, Elmasry has argued that his organization, " the CIC was the first non-Jewish Canadian NGO to denounce anti-Semitic incidents committed against several Montreal Jewish institutions.

Elmasry has referred to Israel as " Apartheid Israel " and has praised Israeli activist Uri Davis because he has " worked to expose the real truth behind Israel's so-called " democracy.

" Elmasry has also stated Uri Davis work makes it clear " to any thinking person that Apartheid Israel and Apartheid South Africa are remarkably similar.

Elmasry has said " The pro-Israel lobby continually strive to discredit anyone who dares to speak the truth about Israeli atrocities against native Palestinians.

Elmasry has called for a two-state solution with Israel withdrawing to its pre-1967 border and praised Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat for making peace with Israel in exchange to its withdrawal from the Sinai Desert However, in April 2008, Elmasry wrote that " Those Palestinians who oppose the one-state solution are those who believe the illusion ( promoted by U. S. president George W. Bush, for example ) that a two-state solution is just around the corner.

Elmasry has also stated that there is nothing wrong with the " One-State " solution.

" Elmasry concluded by stating that the reason Kovel's book has been " buried " is that " our so-called " free " press and broadcasting networks ... are free only to those who own them and use their power to express their own views.

In an article written in June 2007, Elmasry criticised Canadian Jewish intellectuals for, in his opinion, moving to the right of the political spectrum.

In June 2006, Elmasry, named four public figures-Tarek Fatah among them-of taking every opportunity to bad-mouth Islam.

Elmasry wrote that " social justice once had staunch friends among Canadian Jews ", citing in particular David Lewis, but argued that today " many Canadian Jewish intellectuals are assaulting Canada's policies regarding multiculturalism, immigration, and what they consider federal " giving in " to natives ' land claims.

Elmasry suggested such as state " could divide key positions of power among Jews and the Arabs.

" On the same broadcast Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, asserted that all adult Israelis are legitimate targets of attack as a consequence of their service in the Israel Defense Force.

It was widely reported, for example, that " Elmasry said all Israelis over 18 were legitimate targets for suicide bombers.

Regarding the October 2004 controversy involving Elmasry, Tarek Fatah, a founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, had stated that "... to believe all Israelis are targets is the height of hypocrisy.

In an article written in the The Canadian Charger in June 2009, Elmasry wrote that " Israelis are indoctrinated in Zionism " and that " violent militarism is not only a Zionist ideal but an economical and a sociological necessity.

Whoever says this is saying it out of ignorance of his or her own religion ," said Elmasry to the National Post and argued that extending Christmas greetings was the polite and neighbourly thing to do.

Regarding Elmasry's statements, Fatah wrote that " Elmasry accused his Muslim opponents of being traitors to their faith — an allegation that is read as a charge of apostasy, with all its ugly consequences " and that " It is especially sad that Mohamed Elmasry and his allies have chosen the holy month of Ramadan to launch their broadside on progressive Muslims.

We are very late in that process now and it would be inappropriate to make a change .” Teneycke did not comment specifically on Elmasry ’ s words.

Fatah also stated that: " In refusing to step aside, Elmasry and the CIC have demonstrated the authoritarian and dictatorial nature of their structure .… They purport to speak for Canada's 600, 000 Muslims, but are not accountable or answerable to them .… We demand he not … masquerade as leader of the community.

" In addition, Elmasry added that " the doctrine of colonization: looting other people's wealth and enslaving them, while killing outright those who resist ... seems to be the dominant doctrine in Washington today " and that " Americans are busy preparing to attack yet another country, spreading more looting, more death, more suffering, and more destruction next door in Iran.

Elmasry also stated that the decision to place Hezbollah and Hamas on this list was " dictated by special interest groups with agendas that are contrary to peace with justice.

During the meeting, Levant claims Elmasry engaged in " a lengthy rant against the ' zhoos ' who control the media, the ' zhoos ' who are ' on top ' of the world and keep the Muslims on ' the bottom ', and about how my own comments were suspect because I, too, was a ' zhoo.

Elmasry acknowledged that “ Teaching tolerance at a young age is a must ... but you have to balance that with the appearance that you are not promoting certain values, in this case homosexual families.

In February 2005, Elmasry wrote on the website IslamOnline. net that: " I believe that the responsibilities of Canadian Muslims are to emphasize education in their own community and also other faith communities that homosexuality is against the natural law of the creator, and that it is harmful to the body, the mind and the soul of the person.

" Elmasry praised Mugabe for " trying to implement a land reform ; to redistribute the land of about 5, 000 white farmers to his country's poor black people " and argued that the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy and the rampant inflation are the result of Western sanctions and not because of Mugabe's land seizures.

Elmasry apologized for his comments and offered to resign-his resignation was rejected by the CIC.

From 1965 to 1968, Elmasry worked for Cairo University and from 1972 to 1974 for Bell-Northern Research in Ottawa, Canada.

", CIC President Mohamed Elmasry responded, " Yes, I would say.

Elmasry later apologized for his remarks calling them his " biggest mistake " in 30 years of public life and offered his resignation which was not accepted by the CIC's board.

The Elmasry affair led to criticisms that the media focussed entirely on the comments of the CIC president while neglecting controversial comments made on the same program by a B ' nai Brith official, Adam Aptowitzer who stated that " When Israel uses terror.

Elmasry also criticized Canadian Jewish groups over this incident.

In an article entitled " When Jews Target a Canadian Muslim ," Elmasry accused the Canadian Jewish Congress ( CJC ) and Bnai Brith Canada of " putting pressure on my university to fire me " and that his words were " mis-represented to the public exactly as the CJC wished.

At first, Elmasry defended his remarks by insisting that he was merely sharing the standard Palestinian point of view.

Specifically, Elmasry stated that Fatah is " well known in Canada for smearing Islam and bashing Muslims.

" Fatah stated that he views the label from Elmasry as tantamount to a death sentence.