My heart is broken again. Is yours? If you haven’t read the article “White Supremacy is as Old as Canada” in the Toronto Star, please do. It centres the hate/Islamophobia-motivated murder of the Muslim family (Yumna Salman, Madiha Salman, Salman Afzaal and Talat Afzaal) last week in London …
Muslim
The Niqab and Bill 62
It’s an interesting thing that Quebec has done with Bill 62: they haven’t used the word Muslim or niqab in their Bill, but they have still managed to target Muslim women. Sneaky. And, in my opinion, sinister. There has been a statement to attempt to defend the universalism of the Bill. …
An Inclusive Canada?
Not being included, not having a feeling of belonging, or of being welcome can be uncomfortable, lonely, angry, sad (to name a few) - all of which add up to a feeling of separateness. Depending on who we are, this feeling of not being included (of exclusion) can be familiar or unfamiliar. If it's …
Why a hijab is not a hat
On Friday, a judge in Quebec refused to hear a case because the woman in her courtroom was wearing a hijab. She likened it to someone wearing a hat or sunglasses - which are not permitted. Furthermore, she is reported to have said that the woman was not "suitably dressed". When I heard it on the …
A Great Example of Inclusion
About a week ago I read part of an article in the newspaper (which I can no longer find, sadly) about a restaurant owner who had made the decision to serve Halal meat in his establishment. He is not Muslim. But there are members of the Islamic community who live in the area of his restaurant, and …
The niqab and Canadian citizenship
I first heard Immigration Minister Jason Kenney on the radio on Monday night, talking about his decision that women wearing a niqab must show their faces during the citizenship ceremony in order. I couldn’t believe my ears when he used the fact that women are required to be unveiled when they …