Muslim prayers in schools get provincial endorsement following intense meeting

The morning after a tense meeting at the Peel board — where a protester tore up a Quran and others yelled Islamophobic comments — two provincial ministers spoke out in support of schools providing space for Muslim students’ Friday prayers. “I have met with the leadership of Peel and have obviously been very concerned about what I’ve seen and heard,” said Education Minister Mitzie Hunter who, along with Children and Youth Services Minister Michael Coteau, issued a written statement backing the board. “ It felt important to Minister Coteau and I to really reinforce our expectations there’s just no tolerance for discrimination of any sort,” she told reporters at Queen’s Park. “We don’t tolerate issues of racism and Islamophobia.” At issue in the Peel public board is some schools providing space for Muslim students to pray as a group, on Fridays. The practice has been going on for two decades — as it has in some Toronto public schools — but only recently been targeted by critics by way of protest and petitions demanding the 20 minutes of group prayer, called Jummah, be banned. Critics believe it leads to segregation among students and inappropriate exposure to religion in a secular school system. But Hunter and Coteau said allowing such prayers are in full compliance with the human rights code and mandatory board religious accommodation guidelines. “We encourage parents and students to have an ongoing dialogue with their schools if an accommodation is required or whether there are concerns,” they wrote. “While it is our expectation that all public school boards comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code, we know that hate continues to spread, even in the most diverse regions of our province.” At the Peel board’s meeting Wednesday night, tempers flared and police — who have been called in to recent meetings for extra security — cleared the room after about 80 protesters could not be calmed. One ripped up a copy of the Quran, and stomped on it, as others yelled anti-Muslim comments. The board says it has turned the matter over to police. “To say it’s disrespectful is a great understatement,” said Chair Janet McDougald said. “It’s hateful — the social media has just been abysmal, it’s just been awful, and some of our students are feeling a little unsafe because of it. Trustees and staff have answered critics’ questions many times to no avail, and McDougald said they have an anti-Muslim agenda. In response, the board created an information sheet that answers all of the questions the board, and “staff will use this sheet in response — and nothing else — in responding to questions and concerns including social media.” The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association issued a statement saying “the schools of Ontario welcome and provide a safe place for students who practice the very broadest range of religions and beliefs.” Hunter and Coteau say the Peel board “has been working closely with their students and the community for more than a decade on religious accommodation in their schools and we are pleased to see their commitment to inclusion. “ Realizing the promise of Ontario’s diversity is a continuous process grounded in actively respecting and valuing the full range of our differences.” That the prayers have been happening for so long without controversy demonstrate how it’s a “been a pretty well-oiled practice for many, many years,” said McDougald, adding students sign in and out of the empty classroom space. The issue in Peel has become so heated that even Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey weighed in. “Letting Muslim students pray for 20 minutes in an empty space with the supervision of volunteer staff does not cause any financial hardship,” she said in a written statement. Provincial MPPs recently passed their own anti-Islamophobia motion as a show of solidarity against discrimination toward Muslims.