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Harper losing his Jihad Against Niqab
2-24-2015
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives declared their Jihad against Niqab in 2011. One Niqab adorning, practising Sunni Muslim woman, Zunera Ishaq, 29 year old mother from Ontario, decided to take on Mr. Harper and his Conservatives on their Jihad against Niqab and won. So far, Niqabi Muslim Mother 1, Conservative Jihadist 0 – Kudos to Ms. Ishaq for standing up for Canadian Values, and challenging the bigots who in disguise of policies and procedures advancing their own agenda, trying to appeal to their core voters base, trying to pave the field for the upcoming federal elections which they are destined to lose.
Mr. Harper’s former Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Mr. Jason Kenney in 2011 without discussions announced a policy banning Niqab at the Citizenship Oath Ceremony. There were a lot of noise, rhetoric by opposition, op-ed, editorials, but no one dared to challenge, except a Niqabi mother.
Mr. Harper and Conservatives forgot one simple fact of life, that is, in a battle between David vs. Goliath, it is David who wins, always has, and always will.
“About 100 niqab-wearing women are affected by the policy each year,” reported National Post.
Ms. Ishaq challenged the discriminatory policy, I feel that the governmental policy regarding veils at citizenship oath ceremonies is a personal attack on me, my identity as a Muslim woman and my religious beliefs,” she told the court.
In a ruling last week, Judge Keith Boswell said the government’s own regulations require that citizenship judges administer the citizenship oath “with dignity and solemnity, allowing the greatest possible freedom in the religious solemnization or the solemn affirmation thereof.” How is this possible, Judge Boswell asked, if a policy requires citizenship candidates to “violate or renounce a basic tenet of their religion?”
“But the judge cited internal department emails stating that it was “pretty clear that [the Minister] would like the changes to the procedure to ‘require’ citizenship candidates to show their face … regardless of whether there is a legislative base” reported National Post. “The judge also cited a media interview in which Mr. Kenney said it was “ridiculous” that a face should be covered during the citizenship oath.”
Ishaq’s lawyer, Lorne Waldman, said “The Court found that the policy of requiring a woman to remove her facial covering, where there is no question of identity or security, was illegal. The government is required to follow the law.”
Everyone realizes that Harper’s Conservatives declared Jihad against Niqab has nothing to do with safety or security concerns, nor did it ever in past pose threat to Canada, or Canadians. Mr. Harper and his Conservatives are banking on winning next election at the expense of demonizing Muslims – an election where their hatred towards Islam and Muslim, which is now so evident, demonstrating absolute desperation on the part of Mr. Harper and his Conservatives.
Clearly, without a doubt one does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out what Mr. Harper and his conservatives are doing. Their desperation captured eloquently in Toronto’s top selling daily, Toronto Star, February 14, 2015 edition with a headline, “Stephen Harper plays the politics of hate against Muslims” adding, while comparing his approach with Quebec’s former premier, Pauline Marois who lost the elections last year. “Stephen Harper is shameless and cleverer. The prime minister is stoking fear of Muslim terrorism, and pandering to public unease about Muslims and Islam.”
How desperate Conservative really are about the upcoming elections, noted National Post, “The prime minister’s defence of the niqab ban — a ban that the federal court overturned earlier this month — is featured prominently on the Conservative party website. “In Canada, women are full and equal members of society. Including when they take the oath of citizenship,” reads text alongside an image of a woman’s raised hand. “That is why we are strongly opposed to anyone wearing a niqab … while taking the oath.”
Stephen Harper’s citizenship and immigration minister, Chris Alexander, this week even suggested that wearing hijabs — headscarves that typically do not cover the face — could be problematic. “Niqab, hijab, burka, wedding veil — face coverings have no place in [citizenship] oath-taking!” he tweeted.
Evidently, Mr. Harper nor his Ministers are clueless; they clearly do not even know the difference between hijab, niqab and wedding veil.
Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland zeroed in on the remark in the House of Commons. “Surely the minister, of all people, ought to know the difference between a niqab and a hijab,” she said.
What is truly astonishing women’s rights group, are completely silent as Mr. Harper and his Conservatives belligerently trample Muslim Women’s rights. It seems as when it comes to women’s rights for Muslims all women’s rights groups bury their heads in the sand.
It is truly an unfortunate and sad state of affairs that not only women’s rights groups were silence but also Muslim leadership at large remained mum over such a serious matter. So silenced that a Muslim sister who wanted to go to court for witness in niqab was forced to challenge the policy on her own.
Mr. Harper and his Conservatives have truly shown their colours. The Niqab ban has nothing to do with safety or security rather it has everything to do with increasing Mr. Harper and his Conservative chances to appeal to their core voters base for the upcoming federal elections.
The question we need to ask are, Is Mr. Harper so desperate to win that he will degrade Muslim women? Is this where he will stop, or will he target other women and other communities, especially ethnic minorities in order to appeal to its voters base – for scoring points with them? How low can politics go in Canada? Witnessing how Mr. Harper and his Conservatives have done with their declared Jihad against Hijab and Niqab it seems there would be no limit.
We would like to advise Mr. Harper and his Conservatives, quit while you still have a chance. The longer you wait the more you expose your true sides, alienating not only Muslims but also Canadians who are well balanced in their decisions at elections time. You do not need to look further than what happened in Quebec during last provincial elections. The same fate awaits you in the upcoming elections.
At the end we would like to thank Ms. Zunera Ishaq for the moral stand taken on behalf of all Canadians against a government that believes that their chances of re-elections increase if they act as bigots and fascist.
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