Muslim woman asked to remove her hijab by a #Quebec judge. #QcPoli
A Quebec judge asked a Muslim woman to remove her hijab or she would not hear her case. This was not the first time that someone has walked into a courtroom with religious attire, however Judge Eliana Marengo felt the hijab was not suitable attire for a courtroom.
We, as Quebecers lived through the proposed Charter of Values. We have dealt with the Bloq Quebecois using the Islamic face covering – niqab to score political points. Incidents such as this never happened before in terms of hijab but it’s happening now for a reason. The woman, Rania El-Alloul’s immediate response was that she did not feel welcome here. “When I swore by God to be a good Canadian citizen I was wearing my hijab, and the judge, I shook hands with him the same day I became Canadian. I was really very happy. But what happened in court made me feel afraid. I felt that I’m not Canadian anymore.”
There is a huge burden of responsibility on Muslims to include and keep an eye on their own community so that they do not become radicalized, ostracized or polarized. Actions like this will serve to marginalize people. This is not an act of inclusion. This is exactly the type of action that make Muslims feel like they do not belong and are not welcome here. This goes directly against the Canadian values of inclusion, diversity and acceptance.
Our nation is a cultural mosaic where our beauty lies in our diversity. It is the responsibility of those in positions of power and authority to foster inclusion, tolerance and understanding. Not to go against those very principles when dealing with the public.
[bctt tweet=”Our nation is a cultural mosaic where our beauty lies in our diversity.”]
The effects of this Judge’s actions are different than those of a hate crime. This is not just a random person on a bus verbally assaulting a woman because she wore hijab (which we saw in Quebec), because it comes from the bench, in a court of law. During the proceeding, Judge Marengo cited Article 13 of the regulations of the Court of Quebec. That article states: “Any person appearing before the court must be suitably dressed,” therefore leaving it to the discretion of the presiding judge. This sends a loud message to the public by saying that IF a judge chooses to discriminate they are sanctioned to do so by the authority we live under. What message does this send? We now have the courts openly condoning discrimination under the guise of secularism.
Hate crimes against Muslims living in Quebec have gone up exponentially since the charter of values was first proposed in 2013. Canadians by and large are peaceful, accepting and culturally diverse. These religiously discriminatory acts have not been what define us. When people in positions of authority choose to ignore their civic responsibilities to protect the right and freedoms of the minorities, our society as a whole suffers. The result is that Muslims and other minorities are being made to feel like second or third class citizens in their own homes.
An Islamic school in NDG had its windows shot out earlier this month. This was a clear, deliberate hate crime yet it’s not being lauded as such.The Montreal Muslim community (amongst others) is feeling marginalized.
Can you imagine being made to feel like you do not belong and are not welcome in your own home? Would you even think twice about speaking out about it? Well this is not just one person, or one small community. It is an entire faith group in one of Canada’s more populated provinces. This is simply outrageous.
[bctt tweet=”Can you imagine being made to feel like you do not belong and are not welcome in your own home? #QcPoli”]
When the issue of the proposed charter of values came about, there was an air of restraint in directly targeting women who wear hijab. Our jewish and sikh friends were also targeted. As the conversations ensued, it became relatively clear that the issue at hand was primarily with women who wear hijab. It was viewed as the most ostensible religious covering.
It is mind bogglingly outrageous to learn that a Quebec judge would serve her own religiously discriminatory interests rather than promote the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms under which she governs. As a proud Canadian Muslim woman I firmly believe that we as a society are better than this and we need to speak out against discrimination under the guise of secularism.
I respect your opinion but I disagree. Canada, and the West in general, is a secular country/region with modern way of life. Diversity is welcome, with religious freedoms and customs uninhibited in any way, but there also needs to be recognition for the host country norms and prevailing tastes, way of doing things. There is no fashion police, there is no law to prevent people from dressing the way they want, and therefore the judge was wrong. However, in appreciation that a country has welcomed a person from abroad, regardless of race or religion, background or status, that person (which is me in retrospect) should make an attempt to assimilate, adapt and embrace his/her new country with its prevailing customs, dresses and general way of life. Sure I can practice my religion or customs to honour my predecessors and where I came from, my language and so on, and so can everyone else, but do I need to make it public and push it to the world, demanding acceptance, invoking the law and loudly citing my rights? After all, I left my country for a reason, and if I valued its way of life and customs so much, I could always go back, but I made the choice to come and contribute to this society, become a part of it and I embrace it entirely.
Great article! No law should say to any person on earth how they should dress themselves. Thanks for standing up!
Thank you Daniel.
When you ‘adopt’ a new country you should be willing to adapt as well. If you can’t respect our courts then leave. This judge had every right to ask for a particular mode of dress in her courtroom. If you were not ‘suitably dressed’ according to the judge, stop throwing the word “rights” around and adapt! Your hijab, etc. has nothing to do with your religion so stop being so sensitive and trying to start trouble in my country. Muslims have done nothing but try to change things since coming to Canada and the U.S. and we are sick of your demands; demanding Sharia law, demanding bacon be taken out of our restaurant menu’s, etc. Your wearing of burkas etc. are offensive to us, and have been known to hide weapons by the wearer. If you really want to be Canadian, or American, become one in dress as well. We are not in the desert here!
Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. You provide an interesting perspective however what you fail to account for is that I for one am not adopting a new country but simply defending the rights of MY country, Canada. If this judge had the right to ask for this mode of dress to be removed then the three major political parties would not have spoken out against this incident. As the expert on my religion I can assure you that my hijab has everything to do with my religion, it is my choice and my right and no one’s place (including yours) to tell me otherwise. I thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment but I can assure you I am proudly dressed like a Canadian.
You are ‘proudly’ dressed as a Canadian? Since when? Not any Canadian I know. Canada has never dressed in burkas or otherwise. We don’t live in hot desert sands here. We wear suits and dresses and slacks and jeans and coats like the rest of the world, other than the Middle East. If you are a ‘proud’ Canadian then act like one and respect our courts and our judges, wear our clothing and stop trying to stand out and criticize our ways. Become one of the gang as it were; “When in Rome do as the Romans.” If you want to dress like you still live in the desert then return there. If you were born here then act like it. Stop finding blame, stop faulting our ways and put up with them. If Muslims are unwelcome it isn’t because we are uncivilized but because we are happy with our ways and really resent someone who has no idea about our civilization coming here and trying to tell us how to do it and wanting to change things to suit them. This judge has every right, under the law, to ask that people appear In her court dressed appropriately and a hijab or burka is not appropriate in our country, just as jeans would not be in yours. If you had real respect for our country and our ways you would do as asked and dress as requested. It certainly won’t hurt you to be a little humble. And on the best information your clothing is not considered religious wear.