Slander trial looms for author who criticized Muslim school
A slander trial is set to begin next month pitting a fiercely secular, feminist author against a private Muslim school in Montreal she likened to militant Islamist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Djemila Benhabib, an award- winning author and twice- failed Parti Québécois candidate, is claiming freedom of expression, while the school wants $ 95,000 from her for “greatly tarnishing” its reputation.
“I regret nothing,” Benhabib said Monday as she referred to the 2012 radio comments that have landed her in court.
Benhabib told the host in 2012 she was concerned by the selection of Qur’anic verses published on the website of the Muslims Schools of Montreal, a private institution that teaches elementary and high school. The school is accredited by the province and follows the curriculum outlined by the Education Department.
During the 2012 interview, Benhabib said the verses, which have since been removed from the website, inappropriately referred to the need for young girls to stay pure. She also stated they criticized non-Muslims.
“( The school) resembles the kind of indoctrination similar to what goes on in a military camp in Afghanistan or Pakistan,” she told the radio host.
Moreover, she added the school “models itself on a society different than ours. It’s a model where women have to lower their heads and walk behind men. Where kids are f orced to l earn Qur’anic verses and where, probably, men will commit honour crimes against their sisters.”
The court case begins Sept. 26.