PHOTO: OWEN EGAN

Syed Naseer: Speaking freely

If Syed Naseer were to have his way, there would be two days of remembrance in November, Remembrance Day and Yom Al Zekrah (Arabic for "Day of Remembering"). The latter would be a day for remembering the more than eight million Muslim victims of genocide throughout history.

The former, in Naseer's estimation, is far too Eurocentric; Remembrance Day doesn't take into consideration the thousands of non-Europeans who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

"There was a very big Indian contingent in both wars," notes the bibliographer/cataloguer for Islamic and South Asian Studies.

Naseer feels Yom Al Zekrah would bring attention to the history, diversity and suffering of the millions of Muslims who died in Stalin's gulags, the Spanish Crusades and the Inquisition, the African slave trade, and in the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.

The latter, elaborates Naseer, not only killed people, it completely destroyed Baghdad, "the mosques, schools, libraries in what was a major cultural centre."

The recent wars in Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechnya have also involved the genocide of Muslims, says Naseer, who is "very upset" at the CBC's dismissive treatment of the recent bodycounts of Armenians in Kosovo.

"Two thousand or 20,000 innocent lives is a horrendous crime. How do you decide what is genocide?"

Normally, however, Naseer is a great fan of the mother corp -- especially radio. "My children tease me that the radio is soldered to the CBC band."

The public broadcaster -- and other media outlets -- frequently interview Naseer either for his knowledge of Islam and Muslims in Canada or for his defence of national unity. During the referendum campaign of 1995, for instance, Naseer was a member of the CBC's televised "town hall" discussion.

His affection for this country and library work began, accidentally, in his student days. Naseer came to McGill in 1960 on a fellowship, after completing his MA in political science at Aligarh Muslim University, to do a second MA here.

Because there was so little on India in McGill's libraries, he decided to tackle a Canadian subject for his thesis: "Public Corporations in Canada: the CBC and CNR." It was while conducting research in the CN library that his potential as a librarian was discovered. Helen Dechief, the corporation's librarian, "asked me why I didn't go into library work. She was very encouraging and introduced me to the world of librarianship," recalls Naseer.

After returning to India to teach for a year, Naseer came back to McGill to do a master's in library science and ended up staying. "The opportunities were better in Canada. Those were the good old days when there were four job offers for every graduating student," he chuckles.

Naseer was hired as the first full-time librarian for the nascent Centre for Developing Area Studies "to build the collection on the developing world."

There were few non-Europeans at McGill back then, much less Muslim, recalls Naseer, saying that for the Friday "Juma" prayer service, the 20-odd Muslims on campus would gather in Purvis Hall.

Things are different now. "Now, there are close to 20 mosques in Montreal, 85,000 Muslims in the area and a prayer room at every university campus."

But Naseer is concerned that the ignorance of Muslims 30 years ago has been replaced today by fear and mistrust. He blames the media for creating and maintaining the image of Muslims as either terrorists or religious fanatics.

"Does anyone realize that 75% of the world refugee population is Muslim?" he asks with exasperation.

Last year, Naseer and his wife "performed Hajj" -- something every Muslim with the means and the health is obliged to do once in his or her life -- travelling to Al-Makkah (Mecca) to worship alongside two million Muslims from all over the world. "It's like a global bonding, all worshipping one lord all together."

Still, coming home held its own pleasures. "This is the best country in the world," he says, drumming each syllable on his desktop. "When I'm away and I come back, I thank God I live in a country where I can speak freely."

Bronwyn Chester






Never at a loss for words


McGill professors garner many laurels, but world champions are still hard to come by. Joel Wapnick may be the first.

Last week, the music professor won the World Scrabble Championship in Australia and $22,500 in cash. He claimed the title by beating out a tough field of over 100 wordsmiths from 35 countries.

Does the newly minted champion, who started competing in Scrabble tournaments back in 1975, feel like the King of Scrabble?

"I played well, but there were probably 10 or 15 people (at the championship) who are all about the same strength, and any of us could have won it... If they held it all over again, I might come in 15th or 20th; who knows?"

Luck is an important part of Scrabble, "because players pick the wooden tiles at random, and some are more valuable than others. Two of the tiles are blank and act as wild cards, standing in for any letter, and certain letters are more versatile than others. The S, for example, can simply be tagged onto the ends of many words to form the plural."

However, skillful players always seem to be luckier than most. Wapnick has memorized 12,000 seven- and eight-letter words, and trained himself to think strategically at the game table.

"You have to look for hidden possibilities, and to keep in mind how the board changes when you choose a word. Everything else being equal, you want to make a defensive play -- one which won't leave your opponent with many options."

Wapnick is a previous winner of the North American Championship (in 1983) and the Canadian Championship (last year). He will defend his latest title at the next world championship, two years from now.

His status as reigning champ may help, or it could put a bull's eye on his back.

"Some players might be intimidated, but others might welcome the challenge and try harder to beat me. So it cuts both ways."

Sylvain Comeau








I fold whenever I'm feeling groggy and my mind is wandering. Folding focuses it. It's like doodling. It makes it easier to listen and stay awake.



Oncology professor Richard Margolese talking to the National Post about the therapeutic value of origami, the Japanese art of folding paper.





Uncle Sam will have his say



ILLUSTRATION: TZIGANE


Everyone knows that in the wake of a referendum in which most Quebecers opted for sovereignty, there would be tough talks ahead involving Quebec City and Ottawa.

What many don't realize, according to a trio of McGill professors, is that the negotiations would also involve our southern neighbours -- whether we liked it or not.

A new policy paper put together by historian A.R. Riggs, economist Tom Velk and political scientist Harold Waller predicts that a "cold-blooded" U.S. would insist on playing a major role in determining the future of a fragmenting Canada.

Discussing the paper at a forum at Johns Hopkins University, Velk said Canadians would be naïve to believe that Americans would leave us to our own fate should Quebec decide to go it alone. With extensive close ties to Canada that include $1 billion in daily two-way trade, the U.S will be following the developments here very, very closely.

"American vital interests require that America have a prominent, if not dominant, place at the table upon which any new plan for the political re-organization of Canada is drawn up," said Velk, adding that in any separation talks, "Americans will call the tune."

In their paper, entitled "U.S. Foreign Policy and Canadian Fragmentation: Balancing vital interests during a crisis," the McGill authors warn that "the American negotiating style... will be potentially cold-blooded.

"The final outcome (will be) a North America redesigned in accord with American public and private directives... There will be a "what hit me" look on the faces of many former Canadians."

Source: The Toronto Star








I know one parent who spent a day and a half of a business trip in Hong Kong looking for a rare hologram Pokémon card for his kid. The parent should have said no.



Educational and counselling psychology professor Jeffrey Derevensky speaking to The New York Post. Psychologists say parents are partially responsible for fueling kids' obsessions with the wildly popular pocket monster cards -- they buy their children Pokémon items to make up for not spending time with them.