Let’s unite against hate and discrimination

It seems that the lessons of history are still unlearned

Last week we learned that a prominent neo Nazi figure lives and propagates his views right here in Montreal. My first reaction was disgust that in 2018 we are still dealing with Nazi wannabes.

Have we not progressed enough as a society to know where that kind of hateful ideology leads us?

I vividly remember our world history lessons from high school and CEGEP. The First World War, the Second World War, the Holocaust and the Crusades are among the critical events that shaped history. It seems their lessons have not been widely enough learned.

Meanwhile, the internet has helped unite hatred; individuals who used to lurk on the fringes of societies, in dark bars or coffee shops, have found others like them and seem to be growing in strength and numbers.

We need to share and express a communal sense of outrage when the activities of neo Nazis come to light. Our sense of outrage should not depend on what faith group, cultural heritage or socio-economic class we hail from, but stem from an internal feeling of not wanting to repeat the worst horrors of our shared global history. To wave the flags of perpetrators of horrific acts is abhorrent, and should not be tolerated.

No one in our society should be allowed to discriminate against any subset of individuals, preach hate or call for violence. As a society, we need to call out acts of discrimination when we see them.

Our elected officials should be showing leadership on this issue.

Instead, there was a reminder Wednesday that our provincial government has enacted religiously divisive, overreaching legislation targeting a small group of individuals from one specific faith group.

Seven months after the adoption of Bill 62, Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée released guidelines for the law’s implementation. When it comes to politics, there are no coincidences; this appears to be an attempt to remind Quebecers where the provincial Liberals stand as we head into election season.

Bill 62, which obliges public services to be delivered and received with the face visible, as well as providing a framework for the granting of religious accommodations (such as absences for religious holidays), is dog-whistle politics at its most blatant.

Seven months to say the government is shifting the burden of deciding about accommodations for Muslims and other religious minorities onto public agencies like school boards, police forces and public daycares? Sounds an awful lot like passing the Islamophobic buck, if you ask me.

After the defeat of the Parti Québécois in 2014, resulting in the scrapping of its proposed Charter of Values, the provincial Liberals came in as wolves in sheep’s clothing. While they ceremoniously stood shoulder to shoulder with the Quebec Muslim community at the time of the Quebec City mosque shooting, they did not retreat on Bill 62.

That legislation, divisive and inflammatory, was a refined version of the PQ’s charter, a charter that had discriminated against Jews, Sikhs and Muslims alike. The Liberal version homed in on a piece of cloth worn by fewer than 100 women in the entire province. The highpitched meta-message it sent to those on the right side of the political spectrum, however, was loud and clear.

It is imperative that we not remain silent as a society.

It is essential that we call out hate speech, hate groups or discrimination where we see it, whether it’s in the form of a flag-bearing neo Nazi or a discriminatory piece of legislation that is using a piece of cloth worn by fewer than 100 Muslim women in this province for political purposes.

Our societal outrage should not be based on whether the discrimination is targeting someone who looks like us, but should stem from a deeper, collective moral compass that directs us to unite against hate or discrimination in all of its forms.

Fariha Naqvi-Mohamed is the founder and editor in chief of CanadianMomEh.com, a lifestyle blog. twitter.com / canadianmomeh