When Khawlah Noman claimed a man in his 20s twice tried to cut her hijab that quickly became a national story in Canada. Toronto mayor John Tory and Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne weighed in on the case, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proclaimed that in an “open and welcoming country” like Canada “incidents like this cannot be tolerated.”
Trouble is, according to police the incident “did not happen” but after revelations of the hoax the outraged politicians were little in evidence. Those who find this troubling might contrast other attacks that did not have an existential problem.
Last October 8, Habbibullah Ahmad, 21, attacked Anne Widholm as she strolled on the Ganatchio trail in Windsor, Ontario. The 75-year-old grandmother suffered “the worst skull fractures I’ve seen in my 12 years here in Windsor,” as neurosurgeon Dr. Balraj Jhawar told reporters. The victim’s lacerated scalp, bruised face and fractured neck vertebrae were “among the most brutal things I’ve seen in my career.” The attack “is not just another assault,” the doctor said, but maybe represented “a new, dark side of Windsor that we can’t let propagate.”