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My praying in public doesn’t ‘interfere’ with anyone
This article was originally published in The Gazette.
The Quebec government’s plan to table a bill banning prayer in public spaces in order to strengthen secularism in the province makes one wonder how exactly its so-called secularism is threatened by someone’s private prayer and who this bill mainly targets.
Muslims are required to pray five times a day with set times for each prayer, and it is best to perform these on time. Islam is not a religion that is confined to the mosque — it is a way of life, where Muslims are supposed to live according to the tenets of their religion in their everyday practices.
As observant Muslims, my husband and I, as well as family and friends, have prayed in a number of places including parks, parking lots, restaurants and sometimes on the side of the street. This is because we immensely enjoy exploring this province and its many natural spaces, particularly during the summer months, making the most of the long days. We make it a point to be as unobtrusive as possible, often finding quiet spaces, to perform our prayers as fast as we can.
We try not to “interfere with public order” and we do “respect the purpose of public spaces,” which Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge seems so concerned with. In all these years, with all these people, never has one person come up to say that we are hindering their access to public spaces or even making them uncomfortable.
If we could not pray outside, we would have to miss our prayers or cut short our trips and return home. This does not even take into account the massive infringement on our fundamental rights as citizens in this province.
The plan for this bill stems from the recent 228-page report in which an advisory committee on secularism recommends extending the current ban on religious symbols to more public-sector workers, among other similar recommendations.
The committee also examined the question of prayer rooms in CEGEPs and universities. It recommends allowing colleges to have small resting areas or rooms with the condition of having only one or two people at a time. For universities, it recommends they be given the power to not have any prayer rooms at all.
Many students who use these rooms do not do so only to pray, but to have a space for gathering or reflection with people of their own faith, as I have observed during my own time at Concordia. This could mean that these students would have no safe spaces. They would have to rely on the discretion of university officials and others, just to exercise a fundamental human right.
Bill 21 already has a profound effect on my life, where as a hijab-wearing woman, I am unable to even apply to many jobs despite holding a PhD. This government ignores the real problems of Quebecers, too many of whom still do not have a family doctor. The cost of living and housing keeps rising, with more and more people struggling to afford basic necessities. Meanwhile, the National Assembly has just increased the base salary for MNAs (again) by almost $10,000.
Laws, policies and attitudes that effectively target the Muslim community risk increasing racism and xenophobia against immigrants and others. The risk of violence, too, increases against those who wear any kind of religious symbol in public, in particular Muslim women.
Christiane Pelchat, co-chairperson of the advisory committee on secularism, is quoted as saying the outcome of Bill 21 is “positive” and there is “no catastrophe.” This despite evidence to the contrary, such as the numerous legal interventions and a report by the National Council of Canadian Muslims that show Bill 21 has increased social discord and discrimination against Muslim women. This alone should be enough to discredit the report and its recommendations.
Arwa Hussain is a former public scholar at Concordia University and holds a PhD in religions.
