Muslim community urges for calm and rational discussion over niqab debateMarch 3, 2010FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Montreal, Quebec, March 2nd,
2010- The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) cautions against an
unwarranted flaming of the reasonable accommodation debate, after a Muslim
student was expelled for wearing a niqab. MCM calls for a calm and rational
discussion on the issue, as a ruling from the Human Rights Commission is awaited
to shed further light on the matter.
“It is unfortunate that the Minister of
Immigration herself had to get involved in this issue,” said Salam Elmenyawi,
president of MCM. “It would have been better for all parties if the issue was
resolved by means of an evenhanded compromise between the student and the school
administration, with mediation from the Human Rights Commission and the Muslim
religious authorities.
MCM notes that the expulsion highlights a
double loss, firstly on the part of the Muslim student who was denied the
opportunity of learning the French language in order to fully integrate herself
and become a fully engaged, productive member of society. Secondly, on part of
the Quebec society, in failing to successfully reach out to all members of the
society and help them integrate to the best of their ability and feel a sense of
belonging in their new home, as opposed to feeling
alienated.
“It is discouraging to see the same issues
over reasonable accommodation being revisited time and time again, without us
making any progress forward on this matter,” Elmenyawi said. “As the
Bouchard-Taylor commission report on reasonable accommodation noted, the
responsibility of integration and intercultural relation is upon all
Quebecers. There is no need to turn this
issue into a hysterical circus of ‘us vs. them.’ We are all Quebecers and we are
all committed to a prosperous, harmonious society and only by working together
can we achieve this.”
Quebec Immigration Minister Yolande James
authorized the expulsion of the woman, a permanent resident of Canada, from the
government-sponsored French language class at Cégep
St. Laurent, after she allegedly refused to remove her face covering. The
Human Rights Commission will study the case in the coming
months.
CONTACT: Salam Elmenyawi Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) Ph.: (514) 748-8427 Fax: (514) 747-9139 E-mail: info@muslimcouncil.org Website: http://www.muslimcouncil.org The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) is an umbrella organization representing a number of Islamic institutions in the Montreal region. There are over 200,000 Muslims in Montreal, about 900,000 in Canada and 1.7 billion worldwide. -30- |