http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/canada/100317/muslim-headscarf-Canada-immigrantsNaema Ahmed, a 29-year-old Egyptian, was attending a government-sponsored class in Montreal for immigrants who want to learn French. In the middle of writing an exam, she was pulled out of class by a provincial official, who gave her a stark choice — remove the veil or leave the class. Ahmed left. There are no laws in Quebec that ban women from covering their faces with a veil. But in backing the actions of bureaucrats, Quebec’s immigration minister, Yolande James, made one up on the spot.
“There is no ambiguity on this question: If you want to
our classes, if you want to integrate in Quebec society, here our values are that we want to see your face,” James said, adding that legislation to deal with similar incidents would soon be introduced. The paradox, of course, is that Ahmed wanted to integrate by learning French. But the government, by banning her from classes, is pushing her to the margins of Quebec society.
Some obvious questions are rarely asked: Why should citizens from ethnic minority backgrounds accept values that have failed to ease social and racial inequality in Western countries? Why should religious symbols be banned and brand-labeled clothing tolerated? If laws that oblige people to dress according to religious dictates are considered outrageous, how can those that oblige people not to do so in Western societies be admirable?
What’s clear is that the veil — a divisive issue among Muslims themselves — is worn by a miniscule number of women in Western countries. Estimates in France place the number at 1,900, among a Muslim population of about 5 million. In Canada, you can walk the streets of downtown Toronto — the most multicultural city in the country — without spotting one for weeks. Yet, a veiled face has become the poster image of “the other.” For those who buy into the “clash of civilization” argument, it also symbolizes Muslim hordes at the gates.
Tony Judt, the British-born historian living in New York, recently noted a paradox of globalization: as borders fall to the mass movement of goods and people, local citizens, fearful and uncertain, increasingly look to their leaders for protection. The politics of identity become, as Judt puts it, “a flimsy cover for political exploitation of anti-immigrant sentiment – and a blatant ploy to deflect economic anxiety onto minority targets.”
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We have a few African American Muslims in our small town who were the veil. I've seen them walking on the bike path and shopping around town. Our town like most rural areas is fairly conservative, but these women don't seem to have any reluctance to wear the veil. I haven't spoken with them other than to exchange pleasantries, so they may have more problems in our town than I can tell. Or merchants and government officials may have trouble dealing with them being veiled that I am not aware of.
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