Tough week to be Muslim in Quebec
We must not allow the rhetoric of intolerance to go uncontested
It has been a painful week to be a Quebec-born Canadian Muslim woman.
As we prepare to mourn the fourth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting next week, I am sadly reminded once again that Islamophobia still seems to be regarded as a socially acceptable norm in some political and media circles.
Last week, after Mayor Valérie Plante named Bochra Manaï as the city's first commissioner on racism and systemic discrimination, an official in Premier François Legault's office felt compelled to call the choice an “error.”
The statement noted Legault's own task force recommended putting a cabinet member in charge of fighting racism. Never mind that Manaï has played a high-profile role in the Constitutional challenge of Bill 21, which bars teachers, among other public-sector workers, from wearing hijabs or other religious symbols on the job. Or that she has a strong track record both in community work and in academic circles.
Funny. We all know how Legault reacts to “federal interference” in provincial matters. Yet his office has no issue criticizing this municipal appointment.
Did I mention Manaï happens to be Muslim? Meanwhile, some Black community leaders have taken to social media to complain that the role should have been given to a Black Montrealer. But should it matter if the person is Arab, Asian or Black? To stand for diversity and against systemic racism and discrimination means understanding the struggles, trials and tribulations of all communities facing these hardships.
Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois tried to smear Omar Alghabra, the newly appointed federal transport minister, in a statement noting his association with what it called the “political Islam movement.” When dozens of people, including some MPS, took issue with that charge, Bloc Leader Yves-françois Blanchet blocked them on Twitter.
Last but not least, Sophie Durocher of the Journal de Montréal attacked Ginella Massa, the new host of CBC'S Canada Tonight who wears a hijab, asking how viewers would feel if Radio-canada journalist Céline Galipeau wore one, too.
What more can be said about this except that it is outrageous, offensive, insulting and Islamophobic? Massa happens to be both a friend and former colleague of mine at Citynews. She's a stellar journalist out there shattering glass ceilings with her professionalism, inquisitiveness and skill.
Our neighbours to the south have elected the firs ever female, half Black, half South Asian vice-president. Massa is making history of a different sort; the CBC says it's believed she's the first hijab-wearing national TV news host in Canada. And she's being criticized for what she wears on her head? Durocher and others like her need to get with the times.
To me, what all this does is make it even more exhausting to be a Muslim Quebecer right now.
Next week's anniversary of the mosque shooting in Quebec City marks a sad and traumatic time for all Canadians, especially for the Muslim community in this province. We must look for what lies behind acts of hate such as this horrific tragedy that took the lives of six men and decimated many more. We must not allow hatred toward any one community to be normalized. We must not allow the rhetoric of intolerance to go uncontested.
Ignorance is little more than the absence of knowledge. It is important to educate ourselves and each other about Islam, arguably the most misunderstood faith. The third edition of Muslim Awareness Week takes place — online at ssm-maw.com — Jan. 25-31. I encourage everyone to check out the programming and take part. This year's theme, appropriately, is: “Québec, Parlons-nous! / Quebec, Let's Talk!” Now more than ever, that is an apt message.
We must fight ignorance with knowledge and darkness with light. We must and ask questions. That is how we move forward in an inclusive way.