A year and a half after a well-known anti-Muslim agitator was videotaped claiming anyone who eats at a popular GTA Middle Eastern restaurant chain had to be a “Jihadist” who rapes their wife, he is admitting his comments were “defamatory and disparaging” and is apologizing to the Muslim-Canadian businessman who owns the chain.Ranendra (Ron) Banerjee’s “unqualified apology” — which he delivered both in writing and as a videotaped statement released Monday — comes as part of a Dec. 7 settlement agreement in a defamation lawsuit launched last year by Mohamad Fakih, owner of Paramount Fine Foods.The settlement also includes a confidential cash payment and $100,000 “consent to judgment,” meaning Banerjee will be liable for that amount if he ever makes similar comments against Fakih, his family or his business.“I have learned that it was wrong to attack Mr. Fakih because of his religion or where he is from. Such hate has no place in Canada and I will not make public comments of this nature in the future,” Banerjee said in his videotaped apology, reading from a sheet of paper.“I hope everyone seeing or reading this apology learns from my mistake.”For Fakih and his lawyers, the settlement with Banerjee — one of the GTA’s most prominent fixtures at anti-Muslim rallies — marks a significant victory in the fight against hate speech and growing Islamophobia in Canada.“I’m pleased with this apology,” Fakih said in a statement Monday. “It sends a strong message that people cannot get away with defaming others and sharing fabricated statements online that risk people’s sense of safety and well-being. “I can tell you I have been very concerned for my family since this whole ordeal began and continue to be worried,” he continued. “I am grateful that I was able to confront this hatred, though it has taken a significant emotion ...
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