Liberal MP Iqra Khalid is pushing back against criticism over her decision to introduce a religious leader at an event who reportedly supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“Like any MP, I engage with a diverse array of individuals, stakeholders and groups in my community-many of them I don’t agree with. I recently attended a community event with more than 500 community members and introduced a constituent of mine,” Khalid tweeted Tuesday.

“We’ve never discussed his views on international affairs. I’m proud that our gov’t has forcefully condemned the Assad regime and I too condemn in the strongest of terms the recent chemical attacks. I’ve worked hard on these issues in my subcommittee on international human rights,” she added on Twitter, without naming the individual in question.

Khalid’s tweets come after Conservative MPs piled on her during question period for introducing Palestinian Archbishop Atallah Hanna at an event in Mississauga, and for giving an award to Amin El-Maoued, the head of public relations at the Palestine House, on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Conservative ethics critic Peter Kent confirmed MPs were referring to Khalid’s introduction of Hanna and to the award given to El-Maoued.

A blog post noted Khalid had made the introduction and shared a photo of the two of them. The site links to Hanna’s Facebook page where there are posts praising Assad. The information on the website and Facebook page has not been independently verified by iPolitics.

Conservative MP Rachael Harder was the first to raise the issue in the House, accusing Trudeau of sending Khalid, who represents Mississauga—Erin Mills, to “bring greetings on his behalf at an event organized by the anti-Israel Palestine House.”

“This event starred a Palestinian activist who supports suicide bombings and who met with President Assad of Syria in 2017. The activist said: ‘…I am proud of my meeting with President Assad. President Assad is not a murderer or a butcher’. This after Assad used illegal chemical weapons against innocent civilians,” Harder said.

Responding on behalf of Khalid, Liberal MP Matt DeCourcey said the government “has been clear in its position of condemnation against the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons and its indiscriminate violence against its own citizens.” He added the government is also clear on its position that Canada is an ally and friend of Israel and friend of the Palestinian people.

Decourcey reiterated that the government condemns Assad’s use of chemical weapons against Syrian people. “We have been clear from the very beginning, and we will continue to condemn the use of chemical weapons and the indiscriminate killing of citizens done by the Assad regime,” he said.

Kent echoed Harder’s concern: “What we have here is a blatant, inexcusable endorsement of a notorious apologist for the brutal terror-sponsoring, human-rights abusing president of Syria.”

“Words of praise not offered by a merely misguided member of Parliament pandering for votes with an organization with a history of support for extremism and terror, but on a behalf of the prime minister of Canada. Will the prime minister distance himself with this outrageous tribute in his name?” he asked.

As for Khalid, she concluded her tweet thread by standing by the work she’s done.

I’m also deeply proud of the work I’ve done in tackling issues of discrimination in all forms, including antisemitism, and will continue to work hard to further these efforts. — Iqra Khalid (@iamIqraKhalid) April 17, 2018