Haroon Siddiqui

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Haroon Siddiqui, C.M., O.Ont., (born June 1, 1942) is an Indo-Canadian newspaper journalist, columnist and a former editor.

1 Early life and career
2 Canadian career
3 Criticisms
4 Awards and distinctions
5 External links

[edit] 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.

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.

[edit] 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.

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.

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.

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.

[edit] 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].

Critics also charge that Siddiqui harbors 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].

[edit] 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.

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.