https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/jedwab-quebecs-proposed-ban-or-religious-signs-a-case-study-in-identity-politics?fbclid=IwAR0CfxevIYcUIy1jTQ_pLag5_e83R5Hoqx_HH9HNJt0UnF9ecWLFVkBcfQY
Some Quebec intellectuals and policymakers contend that the thinking behind proposed government restrictions, via Bill 21, on the wearing of religious signs for persons in positions of authority originated in the push for greater state secularism that began in the 1960s. In fact, the key driver for the current debate emerged in 2006, when a local YMCA agreed to frost its windows to allay concerns of some orthodox Jews about boys being exposed to women in gym attire.
That concession gave rise to a public outcry, accompanied by fears that it was only the beginning of multiple requests to accommodate the province’s religious minorities. Concerns abounded over immigration, and about whether gender equality was at risk from certain religious minorities that would somehow impose their practices on the majority.
In January 2007, the small Quebec town of Hérouxville introduced a citizen “code of conduct” identifying specific practices to be disallowed. This openly Islamophobic code prohibited such things as stoning women and/or burning them alive, as if anyone in Quebec were doing so. Thankfully, most Quebecers saw the resolution as wildly excessive. Yet, many called on the government to establish rules to address all possible requests for religious accommodation.
Some Quebec intellectuals and policymakers contend that the thinking behind proposed government restrictions, via Bill 21, on the wearing of religious signs for persons in positions of authority originated in the push for greater state secularism that began in the 1960s. In fact, the key driver for the current debate emerged in 2006, when a local YMCA agreed to frost its windows to allay concerns of some orthodox Jews about boys being exposed to women in gym attire.
That concession gave rise to a public outcry, accompanied by fears that it was only the beginning of multiple requests to accommodate the province’s religious minorities. Concerns abounded over immigration, and about whether gender equality was at risk from certain religious minorities that would somehow impose their practices on the majority.
In January 2007, the small Quebec town of Hérouxville introduced a citizen “code of conduct” identifying specific practices to be disallowed. This openly Islamophobic code prohibited such things as stoning women and/or burning them alive, as if anyone in Quebec were doing so. Thankfully, most Quebecers saw the resolution as wildly excessive. Yet, many called on the government to establish rules to address all possible requests for religious accommodation.
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