The leader of Canadian Muslims says that a woman with niqab «She is not a radical Islamist.»
The nationalist group Québec FIER has circulated images of women with niqab to warn of the country's Islamisation. The Muslim leader defines them as “normal citizens”.
Two images published by Québec FIER
Social Networks
[social-share align=»right» style=»button» mobile_app=»desktop»]
[social-share align=»center» style=»icon» mobile_app=»mobile»]
The group of Quebec nationalists Québec Proud, with more than 230,000 followers on Facebook, has published several over the past few weeks images of women wearing the niqab in public places in Montreal and other localities. The page administrators say they want “To document the Islamisation of Quebec”, all the while denouncing what they consider to be a growing presence of Islamic religious symbols in common areas.
The posts are accompanied by comments such as “It's an epidemic, there are more and more of them” or “Quebec is not immune to radical Islam”, which have provoked hundreds of reactions and hostile messages. The group defines itself as a “Patriotic collective”What a defence“Traditional values and Quebec identity”.
Muslim leader: «They are not radical Islamists, they are normal citizens.»
In response to this campaign, the president of the Conseil National des Musulmans Canadiens (CNMC), the convert Stephen Brown, has publicly stated that “A woman wearing a niqab is not a radical Islamist; she is a citizen doing her shopping, just like anyone else..” This statement has been picked up by media outlets such as the Journal of Montreal and others who have echoed it.
Brown has asked “to stop confusing personal faith with religious extremism”and has criticised the Quebec government's lack of political condemnation. “We understand the concern about radical Islamism, but One must learn to distinguish it from a mere religious practice.. ”The leaders' ambiguous speeches only fuel distrust," he said.
The CNMC has called on François Legault's government and the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party to publicly condemn these kinds of initiatives. The president of the CNMC has reminded them that, in his inaugural address to the National Assembly, The Prime Minister warned of the arrival of ’radical Islamists on the march through Quebec.“”—an expression which, according to Brown, has helped to confuse the public between extremism and everyday religious practice. “We do not defend the radicals," he has clarified, We defend the right of people to live their faith with dignity. and without being singled out.”
The CNMC is based in Ottawa and is the principal body defending the civil rights of Muslims in Canada. It acts as a point of contact with the federal government on matters of Discrimination, racism and religious freedom.
Quebec Muslims denounce the publication of the images
The CNMC's spokesperson in Quebec, Yasser Lahlou, has confirmed that they have reported the publications to Meta (Facebook) and that has also The case has been referred to the competent authorities. for incitement to hatred. The Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec (ICQ) It has joined the denunciation and issued a strong statement: “We condemn any attempt to divide citizens and to fuel hatred against the Muslim community.".
Lahlou has also criticised the passivity of public institutions in the face of this type of content: “It's paradoxical: lThe platforms say they can't do anything, and the government remains silent.. Meanwhile, Muslim women are once again the target of rejection and mockery. From the CNMC, the organisation calls on the province to adopt clearer legal mechanisms against online hate speech, especially when these focus on religious minorities.
The niqab divides feminism and secularism in Quebec
For critics of the niqab, Stephen Brown's statements represent a trivialisation of a symbol of female submission and the normalisation of a practice that they consider incompatible with gender equality. Several feminist organisations in Quebec argue that, in defending the niqab As a mere personal choice, Brown “limits the space for debate on women's freedom and the visibility of religious patriarchy.”.
Both the governing party, Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), and the separatist opposition, the Parti Québécois (PQ), agree on the rejection of Islamism and in the defence of a strict secularism in public institutions. Despite their differences over sovereignty, both parties share the idea that The full-face veil, such as the niqab, is incompatible with the values of equality and religious neutrality. which, according to them, must guide Quebec society.
By contrast, the left-wing independence party Québec Solidaire (QS) has adopted a much more open attitude towards the use of the veil and the niqab. Like many on the left, they argue that It is part of individual freedom and the right to cultural diversity.. This stance has been criticised by feminist and secular quarters, who see it as contradicting the progressive values the party claims to defend. The debate intensified following a recent episode: An Iranian feminist activist attended a Québec Solidaire meeting wearing a niqab. and it was met with smiles and gestures of complicity. The scene generated perplexity for being a a clear example of how part of the Quebec left has ended up normalising symbols of female submissiveness in the name of the tolerance.
More about veils and burqas
Azerbaijan expels students who wear Islamic headscarves from school
The United Kingdom gives away a thousand hijabs in six months to immigrants arriving via the Channel
Lleida bans the burqa except if worn for religious reasons
Italy bans burqa and niqab but only in schools
Kazakhstan threatens to close private schools that allow hijab
Convicted in Mallorca for gender violence for imposing the hijab, controlling and assaulting
Muslim teacher in Flanders prefers unemployment to taking off her hijab
Even Kadyrov's Islamized Chechnya doesn't want women with their faces covered with the niqab
Feminist strike in Austria to defend the Islamic veil for children under 14
More Perceptions of
ERC, PSC and Comuns oppose combating political Islam in the European Parliament.
Azerbaijan expels students who wear Islamic headscarves from school
Sharia law in the US is supported by 75% of Muslims, 41% of atheists and up to 20% of Christians.
France now has a halal meat supply without the need to sacrifice animals facing Mecca.
The United Kingdom gives away a thousand hijabs in six months to immigrants arriving via the Channel
US Muslim politicians train Canadian Muslims under the slogan "From the mosque to the city hall"«
Teacher fired in Austria for denying a Muslim woman a prayer room
Canadian government normalizes Islamic prayer during workday
Lleida bans the burqa except if worn for religious reasons
Italy bans burqa and niqab but only in schools
The Generalitat pays tribute to the racist Abu Bakr al-Turtuxí as an anti-racist icon
A student residence in Scotland imposes Islamic law in common areas
Kazakhstan threatens to close private schools that allow hijab
A Catholic university in Belgium incorporates Islamic chants into the opening mass of the course
A Muslim family in Granada chooses a Catholic school and demands that the courts teach Islam there
Phrase of the Week
Image of the Week
-Don't you have cousins?