Dear Canada/Quebec/Kanata,
‘Reasonable Accomodation’ is a term allocated to immigrant or foreigners coming to Canada and how it is their duty to adhere to “our values if they want to integrate into society”.
That last pull quote was from this following full statement by Yolande James, Quebec’s Immigration Minister:
“There is no ambiguity on this question: If you want to [attend] our classes, if you want to integrate in Quebec society, here our values are that we want to see your face.”
My question today is, what are our values? What are we showing the world and those who want to move to Canada for its’ so-called Freedoms? If my rights end where yours begin, when is it acceptable for the government to interfere in my judicially and chartered right of individuality as a citizen or permanent resident? If one is relegated to relearn their mother tongue and find French in their minds, how much more can one try to integrate into Quebec society? Questions lead to answers, answers lead to questions. Let us backtrack and uncover the details of the Young Egyptian Lady in the midst of Niqabgate.
Niqab or Noqab?: Canada and it’s growing image of intolerance.
The origins of the Niqab are veiled in suspicion. It is plain to see that the all-emcompassing black head-t
o-toe fashion statement is a patriarchal creation. Throughout all monotheistic religions, you can see that man has silenced his woman and deemed them a lesser being. Nuns have their hair covered and look like they just stepped off the prairie worldwide. Religious Jewish women shave their heads and rock wigs to walk out into public. And Muslim women have a varying range of Islam Saint-Laurent; from the Hijab to the Niqab to the Burka. But, as an Arab Muslim, it is common knowledge to my community that these black holes are societal and cultural conundrums. Now, this is not to say that some people do not wear it by choice. Just as Nuns choose to be who they are, some Niqabis make the decision themselves to be covered. In other instances, I am sure, you can find societal pressures, marital misjudgements or straight up Male-dom reasonings for the garb. As an Arab Muslim, I do see alot of my brothers caught up in the web of visual stimulation.
It is believed that the Niqab began strutting out on fashionistas everywhere during the Byzantine Empire, or Persia before Islam became rule of thumb aka Modern day Iran for all y’all non-semite knowledge having mofo’s. It spread into Islam through the Arab Conquest of the Middle East and is now visibly present in Saudi Arabia and many other Gulf states. You can also see it being rocked in Pakistan.
All though in North America you have been accustomed to calling them Niqabis’, the real word for a woman in niqab is a munaqqabah (moo-naaa-qaaa-baa). The relationship of the Niqab to Islam is very debatable. If you were to encounter a hardcore Wahabi muslim in Saudi Arabia chances are he’s got his wife’s face behind a Niqab because you are a “strange man” (if you are a man reading this). Word to my intolerance for anything extreme. It has been said that many-a-hadith (prophetic teachings) have spoken on the Niqab, or full covering of a woman’s face. But really, this is all up to interpretation and everything is “relative like Saudi Power, which is complex and decisions are based on context.” (Is self-referencing lyrics wrong?)
With the expulsion of Na3ima Atef Ahmed, the young Egyptian lady in the midst of Niqabgate in Quebec, a can of worms was unveiled from the face of racism in Canada. I was recently interviewed on the CBC about whether “tolerance” is something that should be even considered towards Muslim immigrants, and if the word itself is condescending. Yes. It. Is. Na3ima’s case is special and yes, granted, she probably wasn’t the easiest person to deal with regarding her face being shown in class. The story has ranged from her not wanting to do presentation in front of the class to her waiting her back to be facing the class as she speaks, her refusal to be taught by a male teacher or corrected by one, to her total detachment from the class. A teacher asked her to take off her Niqab so she can be graded on pronounciation. She wouldn’t do it. The complaint went to the head of the school THEN to the head of the Ministry of Education. This lead to her expulsion under the grounds that she is not being reasonable enough and accomodation cannot be found in this situation. In my opinion, something in the middle ground could have been found.
Now here is what section 15 of the Charter of Canada says:
15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Uhhhhh, now, where has this not been breached? If individuals are equal without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, etc., how was this young woman treated with equality rule? I have lived in Quebec for 20 years of my life. By no means is Canada this racial melting pot they make it out to be. Lately, the winds of racism have spun my home out of control and left a tornado of a mess behind. After 9/11, Canada followed suit with its American counterpart in profiling Muslims and Easterners in general. Although they didn’t go to the extent of building a prison complex in Cuba, they did partake in safety precautions that lead to mistakes on behalf of the government ie. Mehr Arar and Adil Charkaoui. That Red Canadian Maple leaf we pledge allegiance to is just as soaked in blood as the red stripes of its neighbor below the border. We are just nicer…more flowery….and….. way more relaxed. I guess.
Don’t get me wrong. I am blessed as we ALL are to be in Canada. Let us not forget that we are all immigrants. The founders of this country were immigrants. This is a fact. So, don’t come at me with that “why don’t you go back home?” bullshit, because frankly, my home, was ripped and bombed to shreds by the tax dollars of the American and Canadian Citizenry. The same taxes I pay for me to get health care, go back and destroy the health of my people. Ain’t that a bitch?
I do not really have a point here besides that we are in a problem that has been covered up for decades now. Conundrum-roll please. Africans have faced this pure racism behavior before us. Natives have as well. Many a shade of color know the painstaking deal of omnipresent racism. So we are not surprised to face it as I did a “go back home you animal” spray paint job on my garage door at the age of 7. It’s just…it’s 2010. We are the future. And the smaller the world is getting, the narrower our minds are. Sad really. I’m standing on guard from thee from now on. Racism is ubiquitous. Here. There. Everywhere.
I leave you with this. Do not judge a book by it’s cover. People are stories. Maybe instead of re-enacting our mistakes, we could re-write history? I’m just saying.
God Bless us all. Heaven Help us All.
Your brother from another colored covered mother,
Narcel X.
