Canadian Muslims outraged as Quebec moves to ban religious symbols at schools, including hijab
Canadian Muslims outraged as Quebec moves to ban religious symbols at schools, including hijab
21 March 2025 Canada’s largest Muslim organisation is outraged over a bill introduced by the Quebec government that would ban headscarves for school support staff and students. Bill 94, tabled on Thursday, would cover not just teachers, as is now the case under the existing secularism law, but suppo...
Canada’s largest Muslim organisation is outraged over a bill introduced by the Quebec government that would ban headscarves for school support staff and students.
“In Quebec, we made the decision that state and the religion are separate,” said Education Minister Bernard Drainville, CBC News reported. “And today, we say the public schools are separate from religion.”
But the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), who are challenging in the Supreme Court the original bill that forbids religious symbols being worn by teachers, say the new bill is another infringement on their rights and unfairly targets hijab-wearing Muslims.
“This renewed attack on the fundamental rights of our community is just one of several recent actions taken by this historically unpopular government to bolster their poll numbers by attacking the rights of Muslim Canadians,” the NCCM said in a social media post.
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It’s literally a piece of cloth. How is that a fundamental right? I was forced to take my cap off at school back in the day. What about my rights?
I have nothing against Muslims. But I have a problem with people emigrating to other countries and then crying about having to follow rules and scream DISCRIMINATION!
Go somewhere else then. Omg… it’s not like they’re forbidding Islam or something. Just practice it at home instead.
In Germany, pork is banned in school cafeterias and during Ramadan, SOME teachers ask ALL students not to eat during recess/breaks out of respect for fasting Muslims. Fuck that. This is Europe, not the Middle East.
It’s like moving to china and then demanding that chopsticks need to be replaced by forks, otherwise they’re literally nazis lol.
You are spreading misinformation: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/germany-bans-pork-under-sharia-law/
And of course Islam is as European as Christianity is Middle Eastern: both are true.
It’s literally a piece of cloth.
Right...
Damn, I was hoping we wouldn't have your type around here.
Edit: I really should have quoted the other part, I think you softened the wording (slightly). I just hate the attitude of "blend in or stay out".
Not sure what my „type“ is. If thinking that people who emigrate need to adjust to new rules and culture, then yes, hate me all you want.
This is not how Canada operates. Canada isn't a melting pot.
I mean, according to the post, it’s enough of an issue to be made a rule/law. So don’t tell me there are no issues and that’s not how Canada works. Because apparently it does.
The law is specifically about arbitrating the display of religious symbols in government institutions in order to enforce visible separation of church and state. It's not saying that Muslims have to adopt a different culture. Also, it could very well be unconstitutional. That remains to be seen but there's a high likelihood.
Isn’t that a good thing? Not sure what you’re on about. Religion and state has nothing to do with each other and should be clearly separated.
Schools are government institutions to an extent. Unless you count private schools.
If I wouldn’t have gone to school, the police would have come and literally taken me there, by order of the state (government) so…
Religion is fine, just keep it private.
If you aren't considering what the downside of this type of law is, then I don't think you're engaging beyond stating your beliefs. Clearly there are problems with it and people have expressed them. And as I said it is likely to be found unconstitutional.
You aren't even Canadian, you are German. You quite literally don't even understand that Quebec is simply one region of Canada and their culture is different from the rest of us in many unique and important ways.
I am not Canadian because I live in Europe? Wtf? I was literally born there lmao.
I’m not living in Canada, I currently live in Germany (just because this is the Canada „sub“ doesn’t mean everyone who is active here lives in Canada right now)
My apologies, I misread your previous comment to mean that you found this thread randomly from your front page, not that you are here because you used to live here.
Either way, you seem to have forgotten that what Quebec does on its own has nothing to do with the rest of us. They even have their own legal system.
Honestly it’s okay and I’m quite shocked by how this all turned out. All I really wanted to say is that religion and public institutions should be CLEARLY separated and have nothing to do with each other at all. And that oppression of women on Muslim countries and their diaspora is a serious issue at times.
I never meant to come off as antagonistic as I obviously did. But I get easily worked up about religious stuff. Now there’s no going back.
If it helps, I hate fundamental Christians that shove their opinion into everyone’s throat just as much.
Fuck me lol. I swear I’m not a racist bigot. I just want religion out of the public and for people to be able to live freely. And if that means some things need to be regulated, then so be it.
I also dislike religion and I'm with you on how harmful it is (raised Catholic, 14 years of faith-based schooling). The problem is the broad assumption that every Muslim woman is being coerced and then using that (wrong) assumption to force other women to wear (or not wear) certain things.
I would love it if all religion just like, ceased to exist one day. But we're not there, so this law actually promotes religious oppression and, just like all other forms of oppression, I don't want that for people, especially not in Canada. I don't feel like banning head coverings actually eliminates the problem of coercion in Muslim communities.
I'm willing to admit that, yes, oppression of Muslim women is a problem within our borders (and Canadian women have been victim to honour killings on and off Canadian soil), but banning coverings doesn't solve that problem. Banning coverings solves one problem for some women and creates a problem for others. I don't think it's good policy and makes Quebecers look even more Islamophobic than they did before.
I agree with you. It looks like I just hate Islam.
But it’s not true. I hate no religion. I hate when the religion is openly displayed. Keep that shit at home and all is good. This is 2025.
But I fail to see how banning it would create a problem for some women but not for others?
What could possible happen when they don’t wear a headscarf? I doubt they’ll go up in flames when sunlight hits. So I think banning it is the better approach.
The Canada I believe in is a mixture of cultures and beliefs. Saying they should assimilate to our (white) ways conflicts with that.
Edit: to be clear, I'm obviously not for oppression of women, but that's not what it symbolizes to everyone. At a certain point they're old enough to make their own choices and if they feel better wearing one I prefer to respect that.
With your logic, western countries should stop talking about lack of human right in certain countries.
Yes, you’re right. It’s not our business. Let these places deal with their issues and stop wasting funds on them.
Secularism is forced atheism now?
Who are you to force women to wear less clothes?
There are reasons for banning hijabs, it’s widely known that it’s a form of oppression against women. Just because some say they wear it voluntarily, doesn’t mean it applies to most.
People could be manipulated by emotions to do the worse things ever should we ban expressing emotions?
I mean, we do ban some emotions.
I couldn’t just go outside and let the rage out. Destroying things and punching people. I mean, I could… but I would have to deal with what? Yes. Consequences.
We never banned emotions with ban certain actions or hate speech. We can hate anyone we want but we can't harm them or disrespect them with actions or words
Dude I agree with you to some extent. I am looking like this massive aushole right now that hated everyone. But all I really wanted is for religion and public institutions to be separate. And so how is banning hijabs (a religious symbol) from government institutions a bad thing?
Nobody is going to convert to Islam just because a teacher or student wear a hijab but you can't forcing people who want to wear it not to do it. This is the completely opposite of separation of religion and state. How you going to also ban the symbols of the other thousands of unknown religion. How would you know the person who grow a beard for a religious reason or just because it look nice on him?
It’s not about other people converting to Islam. I couldn’t care less whatever anyone converts to. Just keep it private.
And tbh, yes. I know what a „religious beard“ looks like. It looks like pubes on the chin and throat. And no, this isn’t racist also. It’s an observation and opinion.
Just keep it private.
This is a problem because some religions are more visible than others. That's a part that bothers me. A Christian can tuck their cords necklace into their shirt but what can a Muslim do?
Jon Postel is not a religious person whi still had a very long untrimmed beard
Yeah, but it’s primarily a Muslim thing. Wow. Someone else also has a horrible beard. Guess that disproves everything I ever said.
You emphasize "some" but do we have any data and real numbers?
Genuine curiosity, while recognizing this is hard to measure as a lot of oppression can be internalized.
It's not an easy discussion (and that's fine).
You appear to be an expert on this. Surely you have conversed with many of these women and have not received all your knowledge from racist media figures.
I have received my knowledge from going to school where there is probably 15% Muslims in there. And I heard some of them complain about not only hijabs but in general not being allowed to do certain things.
This is a free world (the west) and should not condone such „culture“.
The key word is some of them
Which is enough.
Some people killed a person they love because of rejection so let's ban relationships and love
This argument is dumb and you know it. Please don’t hit me with these low effort rebuttals.
I know it's dumb but this is the exact logic you are using right now https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/video/rejection-killings-dangers-women-face-when-telling-men-no/
I am sure you have. I can hear the racism dripping on your keyboard.
It‘s probably a shock to you, but I’m not living in Canada, I currently live in Germany (just because this is the Canada „sub“ doesn’t mean everyone who is active here lives in Canada right now) and needy Muslims and also the oppression of Muslim women is quite the hot topic/issue over here.
Are French nazis? Are (modern) Germans nazis? For banning full face coverage for example? Where do we draw the line?
If I move somewhere, I fucking assimilate. End of story.
You live in germany, who is the second biggest supporter of the terrorist state of israel occupying paledtine for 58 years
I couldn’t give two fucks about Middle East, or Israel, Gaza.
I just want to live my life in Germany. Without Muslims constantly demanding things. Name me one needier religious group. They’re never happy.
I’m not German. Just because I live here doesn’t mean I’m born here. And I adapted and get along quite well. German people are by far the most open-armed people I’ve ever met. They hate actually nobody unless you piss them off.
I couldn’t give two fucks about Middle East, or Israel, Gaza.
Shows your complete lack of morality
Name me one needier religious group.
I am sure it's a minority just like muslims supporting rights suppression but many zionists demand to ban the fundamental right to protest because they feel "uncomfortable"
Has nothing to do with morality. We have our own problems no matter where we live. Why do I need to care about Palestine for example?
We have a literal war in Europe right now. I feel bad for innocent civilians in Gaza. But we have more pressing issues right next door. So honestly yes, I couldn’t care less. I care about our own shit first and foremost, which is logical. To me. But probably it makes me literally Hitler.
Extremely Islamophobic and racist comments
"This might come as a shock but I live in Germany"
I am quite unshocked.
How is this Islamophobia? Thats exactly what I’m talking about. Everything is apparently Islamophobia. How about it’s just criticism?
I have nothing against Islam. But like all other religions, I want it out of my day to day life and for people to practice it AT HOME.
Also… how is Islam a race?
If people wearing a piece of cloth is enough for you to say they should be deported and you do not think there is anything wrong with it you are quite far gone.
In Germany, pork is banned in school cafeterias and during Ramadan, SOME teachers ask ALL students not to eat during recess/breaks out of respect for fasting Muslims. Fuck that. This is Europe, not the Middle East.
Irrelevant to this issue. I don't care if you have schoolboy trauma from not eating pork, get it out of this conversation. This is about Muslim women in Quebec, not snowflake Germans who want to spread conservative racist ideology.
LOL. Again. Please tell me how this is racist. Islam is NOT A RACE.
Oh my god. And to what race do the majority of Muslims belong? What sorts of issues have been talked about in Quebec as of late? Oh, anti-immigration? I wonder how these concepts might relate politically...
Talking to racists is like talking to toddlers, they often deliberately refuse to follow basic logic.
Dude if I was a toddler I couldn’t even reply to this, please fuck off. Calling someone a racist for wanting state and religion (and the public) separated is fucking dumb.
It’s not just Islam. I want ALL religions to be practiced privately.
It just so happens that some religions are unable to and need to show it publicly whenever they leave their homes.
It just so happens that some religions are unable to and need to show it publicly whenever they leave their homes.
https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/c-12#se:3
- Every person is the possessor of the fundamental freedoms, including freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disparate_impact
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_genocide
A province that respects human rights wouldn't do this.