Haroon Siddiqui, C.M., O.Ont., (born June 1, 1942) is an Indian-Canadian newspaper journalist, columnist and a former editor. Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country (Hebrews 11. ... The Order of Ontario is an award given in the Canadian province of Ontario. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... – // Indo-Canadians are Canadians whose origin traces back to the nation of India. ... Journalism is a discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and more broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. ... A columnist is a journalist who produces a specific form of writing for publication called a column. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. ... Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. ...

Early life and career

Born in Hyderabad, India, the oldest of six children, to a construction company proprietor and a homemaker, Siddiqui enjoyed what he characterizes as a secure and affectionate, "middle- to upper-class" childhood. Hyderabad or Haydarābād (Telugu: హైదరాబాదు Urdu: حیدر آباد ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... Upper class refers to the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. ...

At Osmania University in Hyderabad, he moved between several majors before earning his first degree in science, and his second in journalism. In 1963, he joined the Press Trust of India as a reporter and copy editor. When his father fell ill, he left journalism to look after his family and the company, running it from his father's death in 1965 until it wound-down in 1967. Osmania University (also known as OU in short)is a public university situated in the city of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Press Trust of India is a nonprofit cooperative among the Indian newspapers. ... Copy editing is the process by which an editor makes formatting changes and other improvements to text. ...

Canadian career

While still at the Press Trust, he met Roland Michener, then Canada's High Commissioner to India, who had encouraged him to immigrate to Canada. By October 1967, encouraged by friends who spoke well of the country, he moved to Toronto. After a brief stint selling menswear at Simpson's, he took a job at the Brandon Sun in Brandon, Manitoba, reporting with special attention to municipal and provincial politics from 1968 to 1978. The Right Honourable Daniel Roland Michener, PC , CC , CMM , CD , LL.D (April 19, 1900 - August 6, 1991) was Governor General of Canada from 1967 to 1974. ... A High Commissioner is a person serving in a special executive capacity. ... The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpsons, was a Canadian department store chain, founded by Robert Simpson in 1872. ... The Brandon Sun a daily newspaper printed in Brandon, Manitoba. ... Brandon Manitoba, a city in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. ...

In 1978, he joined the Toronto Star, becoming foreign affairs analyst in 1979, news editor in 1982 and national editor in 1985. From 1990 to 1998, Siddiqui was the Star's editorial page editor, and on his departure from that position, he was given the special title of editorial page editor emeritus, a role consulting Star publisher Beland Honderich, and a twice-weekly column, which focused on national and international politics as well as cultural and religious diversity. The Toronto Star is Canadas highest-circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ... The editorial page is the page reserved in a newspaper or magazine for the publications editorial. ... Beland Hugh Honderich, OC , LL.D (November 25, 1918 – November 8, 2005) was a Canadian newspaper executive who was the Chairman and Publisher of the Toronto Star and Chairman and President of the Torstar Corporation. ... Canada is a constitutional monarchy and a Commonwealth Realm (see Monarchy in Canada) with a federal system of parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions. ...

Siddiqui has served as president of PEN Canada, on the boards 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, and has been active in the Canadian Newspaper Association and Advertising Standards Canada. What is Pen Canada? PEN Canada is one of 144 centres of International PEN that is located in 102 countries, with at total of 15,000 members worldwide. ... Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not considered bankable. ... This article, image, template or category should belong in one or more categories. ... Ryerson University is a public university located in downtown Toronto, Canada. ...

Siddiqui and his wife, Yasmeem, have two sons. Yasmeem Siddiqui, a race relations consultant, was appointed to the Immigration and Refugee Board in Toronto in the mid 1990s.

Criticisms

Siddiqui courts controversy. 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 [1]. Toronto Life is a Canadian magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Alternate use: see Robert Fulford (croquet player) for the English croquet player. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... The term Western world, the West or the Occident (Latin occidens -sunset, -west, as distinct from the Orient) [1] can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e. ... Honest Reporting is a media watchdog group that monitors and reports on what it perceives as anti-Israel bias. ... Israel, with the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is often claimed to be at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is an ongoing dispute between two peoples, Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians, who both claim the right to sovereignty over the Land...

Critics also charge that Siddiqui harbours anti-American bias, and that he is too quick to dismiss the threat of Islamic terrorism. 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 [2] [3]. Critics of Siddiqui such as HonestReporting have failed to bring honesty to their reports in regards to Israel and it's revisionist history. Critics who accuse him of "anti-american" bias refuse to address the accuracy in his reports ie American support for Latin american terrorists that receive amnesty in Florida. Most of these critics hurl puerile critique as a way of distracting and siezing their one sided moral highground without countering his excellent writings with facts. Along with Tariq Ali, Siddiqui is a refreshing voice from the predictable genuflecting of many north american publications that refuse to address the vacum created by American imperialism and the rise of extremism as a result

Awards and distinctions

In 2000, he became a member of the Order of Ontario, and in 2001 a member of the Order of Canada, for his journalism and his voluntary work. In 2001, Siddiqui was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from York University. The Order of Ontario is an award given in the Canadian province of Ontario. ... Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country (Hebrews 11. ... An honorary degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum, not to be confused with an honors degree) is an academic degree awarded to an individual as a decoration, rather than as the result of matriculating and studying for several years. ... Doctor of Letters (Latin: Litterarum doctor; D.Litt. ... York University (French: Université York), located in Toronto, Ontario, is Canadas third-largest university and has produced several of the countrys top leaders in the fields of law, politics, business, space sciences, and fine arts. ...

He shared a 1983 National Newspaper Award for spot news reporting, and was shortlisted in his own right for editorial writing 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. Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... The Canadian Islamic Congress is the main lobby group for the Muslim community in Canada. ...

External links

• Haroon and the Sea of Opinions (Ryerson Review of Journalism, Spring 2002)
• Haroon Siddiqui, 2000 Order of Ontario recipients' page
• Haroon Siddiqui, 2001 Order of Canada citation