A well intended anti hunger campaign is drawing some criticism in Canada because of who the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation chose as partners in the effort. The situation comedy "Little Mosque on the Prairie" is teaming with the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN), the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), the Islamic Institute of Toronto (IIT) and MuslimServ."

That prompted some head-scratching from Tarek Fateh, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, which is devoted to combating "fanaticism and extremism within the Muslim community." In a column published in today's Calgary Herald, Fateh asks some pointed questions about the program:

"On face value, this is an admirable deed. Who can argue against using star power to motivate Muslims to donate to a charity. However, if you scratch below the surface, there is much more than meets the eye.

If CBC had to reach out to Muslim organizations, why CAIR and MAC? Why not any other Muslim group such as the Canadian Council of Muslim Women? Did CBC know about the controversy surrounding these two pro-sharia groups before allowing them to piggyback on one of Canada's national institutions?"

He points out CAIR's status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Hamas-support trial of the Holy Land Foundation, which ended with convictions on 108 counts December 24, and cites the depth of CAIR's foreign financial support. The Muslim Association of Canada, meanwhile, acknowledges that its "roots can be traced to the Islamic revival of the early 20th century, culminating in the movement of the Muslim Brotherhood" and says it seeks to fulfill the ambitions of Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Banna.

Al-Banna, Fateh notes, "proclaimed that armed ‘Jihad is obligatory on every Muslim,' and that martyrdom in the name of Allah is better than life on earth." That is a chilling message from someone partnering with the government broadcasting outlet:

"What good is it to send our troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan when our own public broadcaster is tricked into according respectability to Islamist organizations that share the same doctrine of Jihad?"

Fateh also is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State.