Religion has been one of the strongest factors associated with the development and the upbringing of people all around the world. The concept is as old as time and has been proven to be very personal yet very public in most regions of the world.
We see Canada as one of the most diverse and accepting nations across the world but Is this just an act? Is there something more below the grins of the Canadian government?
The most recent example of the Canadian hypocrisy could be seen in the recently passed Quebec Bill 21. For those who do not know;
Quebec Bill 21, bans public workers (teachers, lawyers and other public employees) from wearing religious symbols; that include Hijab, Turbans, Crosses and Yarmulkes etc. The Bill was brought into light in 2018 elections and was passed on June 16, 2019. Since it’s passing there have been a lot of the protests and debate in the religious communities but the government was firm on their stance stating:
“the bill is applied to people of all faiths equally; civil rights and community groups say Muslims are bearing the brunt of its effects – especially Muslim women who wear the hijab.”
Well, the way most other people see it is as a biased law, that is specifically targeting immigrants and people that chose to express their religion through what they wear.
NCCM’s Farooq Said:
“It is impossible to deny that there are xenophobic parts to this bill”
and
“There is a reason why this bill is coming from a man (Legault) who refuses to use the term systemic racism.”
It is also recorded that “Whenever the politicians are talking about the bill, they are always talking about the Muslim women – and not Sikh men or Jewish men”. This shows how islamophobia has found its way into the borders of countries like Canada, who proudly deem and present themselves as a multi- cultured and a diverse nation.
On March 2019, after the bill was passed, Justice Femme, a Montreal women’s rights group reported that;
“She has received more than 40 calls from Muslim women saying that they have experienced hate incidents including; verbal, physical abuse, they have been spat on and people have attempted to rip there hijab off.”
How can we forget the 2017 January incident where, six Muslim men were murdered at a Quebec City mosque?
These incidents are only directed towards a single fact; islamophobia is present in the region.
Now the bill has been frozen after a lot of back lash from the public (something everyone would have expected). And the trail is ongoing since November 23rd, 2020 and now is being heard on merits. The trail was supposed to conclude on December 17, 2020 but nothing has been heard about it ever since.
It can only be assumed that it was further delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic but who can actually say that with utmost certainty?
Only time will unveil the truth.
