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To be Muslim or not to be Muslim, that is the question now...

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Much has been said lately in Montreal about the issue of reasonable accomodation. In fact, mentioning the word around here gets people angry, laughing, sad, passionate and many other things that I can't list here.


Last week's elections showed what Quebecers care about most.


A few weeks ago, Mario Dumont, the ultra-conservative Action Democratique du Quebec leader slammed the 11-year old hijab-wearing girl from Ottawa, saying religious wear had no place in the public sphere. A few days later, when the Director General of Elections Quebec announced women wearing niqab (a head to toe covering) would be allowed to vote, Dumont, along with Jean Charest, the Liberal Party of Quebec leader, said it was unacceptable for the 10-15 niqab-wearing women of Quebec eligible to vote to come to a polling station covered up.


Politicians light fires. Quebecers got up in arms and called for ridiculous protests, wearing Halloween costumes to make Director's decision seem ridiculous and illogical.


Poor Director changed his decision two days later, after feeling the heat from ADQ and Liberal Party of Quebec sympathizers. The man received death threats . He now has two bodyguards following him, to make sure he is not killed because he said women who wear the niqab can vote.


If it's come to the point that provincial officials have to walk around using bodyguards, think how the 10-15 women across Quebec wearing the niqab will feel. The sad truth is, they will not vote because of their fear for security, and Quebecers will be happy.


Just another wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in la belle province…Oh, Canada.


Come back next week for a new wave of Islamophobia.

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"ummm, how do i say this....that wasn't a heart attack..you just had a baby"

Saturday, March 03, 2007

I laughed hard when I saw this as I'm sure you will...

The Israeli Minister of Defence should think about re-training. Or maybe just learning how to use binoculars. On February 21st, an Associated Press photographer took a pic of Amir Peretz as he was looking over Golan Heights, while being told what the troops in the distance were doing by one of his advisors. Apparently, Peretz kept using his binoculars in the directions the advisor would point at numerous times, never actually taking the caps off the lenses. This is the problem Israel needs to solve: It needs to learn how to see the reality.


Change of topic again. FIFA ruled today that Asmahan Mansour, an 11-year old Nepean, ON girl who was refused play on a soccer field in Quebec because she wore a hijab, apparently "dangerous" for the girls safety, has no right to wear a head covering while playing soccer. Oh, yeah? How about hypocrisy? If FIFA itself, on its website, says that you can wear "headgear", and some of its member countries (Iran, as an example) ALWAYS feature the hijab as part of their uniform, then they should probably go over a/their policies b/their press releases. They don't know what they do or don't allow anymore.

Stranger things could NOT have happened...A woman in California gave birth to a 3.18 kg baby without knowing she was pregnant. April Barnum must have gone through quite a shock when the x-rays of her body showed a living baby in her stomach: "ooops,...how could that happen?" *looks around*

Speaking of parently feelings, a mother in England was barely allowed to keep the custody of her son after social services threatened they would take the boy away because she was not doing a good job feeding him (the boy's five times the weight of a boy his age).When asked what his favourite food is, Connor McCreaddie, 8 years old, says: "Bacon. Mmmm… That's my favorite. Um … chicken , steak, sausage,".

Photo credit: Associated Press and My EFx2Blog

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"Who? Me? I'm not racist.."

Friday, January 19, 2007

Accusations make you want to defend yourself, but they also often make you say things you wouldn't otherwise say. Heated discussions lead to comments that are rarely uttered. Words of passion can cause an emotional and not intelligent reaction...

Fearing procrastination [battling against procrastination is one of my "unofficial" new year's resolutions], I went in to work early, so early in fact that I had nothing to do for the 30 minutes that I had to wait for my class to begin [this is my language assistant job]. i checked my e-mail [not much new, since I'd just checked it before coming to school ... e-mail maniac, that's me].

I noticed a Wednesday's copy of "Le Journal de Montréal" and what got me was the cover page. On it, two men, one of whom is smiling... In large font, a title of the size that would otherwise be saved for some world catastrophe or some hockey victory: "Selong les communautés, les Québecois sont accueillants" ("According to the [cultural/ethnic] communities, Quebecers are welcoming"). I had seen the page before but I hadn't paid as much attention to it.

The fact that le Journal de Montréal would take such an ethically low stoop on crisis prevention struck me all of a sudden. I wondered what Quebecers thought of this interesting idea. And checked I did. Still, the messages on online forums seem somehow unreal, somehow plastic. Anyone can say anything on the web nowadays, including me, but hearing people say something to you in person is more valuable. It carries more weight for me, somehow. Call me old-fashioned, if you will [some of my students sort of do...will write about that soon], but it takes guts and real emotion to say something you care about to someone else, while knowing that there is a chance they may disagree.

Seeing as Celine, a teacher who teaches across the hallway from my classroom, was the only one in the teachers' lounge, I approached her and showed her the paper. She was preparing for her class in the afternoon, but she welcomed a distraction. She looked at it once and said "well, yeah, in Montreal, we're welcoming, but go to Blainville [not far from Montreal] or the regions of Quebec and you'll see how friendly we are to them."

I mentioned how my Poli. Sci. prof had talked about the fallacy of the survey. She agreed, but at the same time, said it was prejudice that Quebecers carry most in their everyday lives and not racism. This got me thinking, since prejudice is one of the initial steps towards discrimination and then on a more focused lens, racism. I didn't, however, say anything. Her words were far too interesting to distract and I enjoyed hearing honest words from someone who is a "Québecoise de souche" [a born-and-bred in Quebec Quebecer].

She started mentioning things here and there and suddenly, we got to the question of what the reason behind the Quebec racism was, or should I say, Celine did. She said students in her classes were not racist. I mentioned that yes, children are born innocent. Unfortunately, the adults are the ones teaching them about the negative aspects of life and often, imposing their views onto their children. This is a gist of what she said:

"Well, I had a student in class who, when I mentioned how in Montreal, there is a rise in numbers of people wanting to learn arabic, said that they should all be sent home because they are taking over our culture.

Naturally, I told him that he couldn't say things like that in class, especially because I have three Muslim students in that particular section. I could just imagine his father saying something like that...He probably didn't mean it that way, but said it because he heard his father say it.

I do have reservations when it comes to them [by "them", she implied Arabs]. I mean, they are coming in big numbers and they ARE in some ways, influencing and changing our culture negatively. You know, they want their religious needs answered and they ask us to remove our crucifixes from our schools because they say it goes against their religion. Well, I'm sorry, but we were here before them. This school was a Catholic school! Catholicism [the word she used] was here before Islam.

You know, they wanted to wash their feet at Concordia [referring to the actual McGill Muslim Students' Association complaint to the university, which refused to allow the group to have a prayer space ]. They are the kind of people who always want more and more and more. They bring their opinions here and pressure us to accept them. You know, I'm not racist and I am not being one, but I am telling the truth.

Besides, racism and prejudice are two different things. They are not one and the same. We all pre-judge.

Oh, and they are having SOOO many children. I mean, we used to be that way ["we" is used for "Quebecers"] and tried to have as many children as we could. We were all about the family. And then, after the quiet revolution , nothing was the same anymore. Now, the women are all about advancing their careers. And their women are all about having children and taking care of the family. Very soon, Quebec won't be the same anymore...We will not have the same values that we do now. We will be taken over by them."

This was a teacher talking, someone whose likes will teach my children someday.

Somehow, I couldn't understand why this woman, who knows I am Muslim, was telling me all these derogatory things so openly.

I suppose she didn't see me as one of "them".

The crucifix over her head made me think of how threatened she felt. I could only sympathize with her, but I also felt saddened that even in an accepting and welcoming society as the one of Quebec, I witnessed an opinion based on misinformation, ignorance and simple perception of rivalry. It reeked of the ancient balkanic hatred, here in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, North America, the so-called New World.

Photo source: February 11, 2006, Danish Cartoon Protests, Montreal - David Metraux

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If you're racist, please tick this box

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Since Monday, Quebecers are furious at Journal de Montreal and the TVA TV network for a controversial poll they commissioned with Leger Marketing on what they first called a "poll on racism" and later, fearing repercussions, renamed it to "poll on tolerance" in Quebec. The first article on the results of the poll came out on Monday and some would say caused lots of stir in Quebec, including an attack on a mosque in Montreal on Tuesday night. Funny enough, no major newspapers seem to have covered this incident and few community papers have written on it [a Google search leads me to "Little mosque on the prairie"...perfect].

My political science course professor said it was an unacceptable and subjective poll. The result of 59% of Quebecers being racist was shocking for most... Wednesday, Le Journal de Montreal published an article that tried to downplay the sad statistics they published a couple of days before that. It stated that 82% of immigrant Quebecers stated Quebecers were very friendly and welcoming, yet the poll, aimed at Quebecers born in the province, avoided contact with cultural and religious communities in Quebec. How they got the results, I have no idea...

All I know is yesterday, after my Poli Sci. class, I had a rather interesting conversation with Maria, a girl born here, whose family has Greek origins, who said despite the fact that she was born here, she is made to feel somehow less respected because of her family origins. Her exact words were "they think we are only here to work for them and that's our only objective in life."

Meanwhile, the francophone media is trying to change the focus on the issue. They have been playing and re-playing excerpts from the upcoming episode of "Fifth Estate", which is airing an exclusive interview with "a Muslim fundamentalist who infiltrated the cell" who reveals "the inner workings of the cell and its members. These are young men who have adopted a brand of Islam that they believe sanctions jihad in their home city and against their fellow citizens."

Expect more mosque break-ins and nights of broken glass.
Finally, a distraction for all the problems of Quebec.
The show airs on Friday at 10 pm on CBC.

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"We existed before you, you know...that gives us reason"

Tuesday, January 09, 2007


I can't believe that I am writing this much about religion in the last couple of days, but I am finding that so many things seem to happen and they all seem equally important to mention. Funny enough, they mostly seem to be of religious nature.

I got back to Montreal today. I had a wonderful holiday with the family and friends. It helped me fuel up for another semester of French, three jobs and 0 Mr.Right candidates.

I boarded the plane, which, as usual, was late. Every time I'm on a plane, I get stuck sharing the seat with the following:

1-antisocial, geeky girls who bury their heads in the novels they read;
2-seniors who are dead quiet and will not say anything, no matter what I ask them;
3-seniors who can't be quiet no matter how quiet I am;
4-men who think making conversation is flirting.

So, naturally, I was surprised to have a rather attractive, blue-eyed, twenty-something guy sit next to me and start talking. I wasn't really into talking and for the first time, understood what the antisocial, geeky girls I share seats with feel when I try to talk to them.

Noticing that I am becoming someone I don't want to be, I decided to talk to the oddly dressed stranger [khaki pants and a sky-blue shirt that reminded me of Future Shop salespeople]. He told me he was a technician for dialysis machines [fun...]. When I asked him where he was from, he said he was from Montreal, which made my day, especially when he said he was Francophone. I could practice my French! So we started talking in French.

He asked me where my name came from. I explained...He asked what the religion in Kosovo was. Upon hearing it was Islam, he asked if I was Muslim, which I thought was a bit inappropriate, but hey, it was also a good conversation starter...Next, he asked: "So, are you religious?", to which I answered that I was religious. He said he didn't believe in public displays of religion, including women's hijab and burka. I said I agreed with him to an extent, but that people had a right to their religion. He said he disagreed. I asked what he would do about the crucifixes in the classrooms of the school i teach in. Should they remove them? I mean, the nuns gave those schools up more than a decade ago, yet the crucifixes remain there... All this fuss about kirpan, hijab, and there's a crucifix as big as me in the classroom.

We get talking and the guy starts to make completely condescending remarks to the point that he reminds me of the Latter Day Saints guys who say that if I don't embrace their way of thinking, I will not be saved when time comes.

Since I don't want to relive this horror of having a Jehovah's-Witness-alike sit next to me [and you thought having them knock on your door is a nuissance], I won't bother writing about the details this "religious" man shared, including the fact that Jesus will only come to save the good Christians...I asked him: "So will Muslims and Jews not be saved?" He paused and said "Not unless you accept Jesus in your lives". Then he said I should consider converting to Christianity because it existed before Islam, therefore it is righteous.

I was kinda having fun with this guy until he started being completely disrespectful about Islam, calling it a new religion, one that stole from Christianity, whose members have forced and continue to force the faith unto others. This was enough. Guess what I did next. I said: "I am finding this repulsive. I can't believe you call yourself religious. I respect your religion and expect you to respect mine. I have no time for people who in the name of reasoning plant seeds of prejudice." I kinda thought I fetched it a bit far by the last sentence, but he got the point. I took the headphones and untangled them [that took an hour], then tried to play a movie on the touch screen LCD monitor in front of me. It was slow, so i got frustrated, tried it another dozen times and then continued reading Necla Kelek's "The foreign Bride", a book on Turkish life in Germany [in German, too...I'm proud of myself, I'm reading German!].

The rest of the day was ok...I started working as a teacher's assistant in an intermediate English for Business course. It's ok for now. The work doesn't seem too hard and the students look pretty friendly, and most importantly, the prof is kinda friendly. I say kinda because today, in class, I was taken aback by something she said [and then i just laughed...it was too funny not to].

She gave her students an activity whereby they had to decide, in a list of priorities, what was most important for building a chocolate factory. When one of the students pointed out the level of pollution at an area as a factor important to him for building [or not] a factory, she turned to me and said: "Don't you think they come up with the craziest ideas? I mean, who the hell would build a chocolate factory in an area that's polluted? They sometimes don't realize the difference between home and here."

photo: radiopooh

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Little Muslim comedy on the horizon

Sunday, January 07, 2007


After a series of boring tv shows, something of interest seems to be brewing in the studios of CBC TV.

I'm excited about "Little Mosque on the Prairie",a pilot project CBC TV has come up with, in an effort to diversify its content on tv and make it more representative of its viewers in Canada...and maybe even the post 9/11 world that Muslim Canadians find themselves in. The buzz is about a new show based on the true experiences of Zarqa Nawaz, a Canadian Muslim woman who settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba ten years ago.

The show features a cast with some CBC regulars, as well as some newbies. My favourite actor in this show is Zaib Shaikh, whose innocent, religious character is a huge turn-on. He is also cute. Hmmm, yes, I would marry this guy..

It's to be seen whether the show is any good. The fact that it's generated lots of media coverage in the US, Canada and Europe must mean something.

Contrary to what some of my friends seem to think, saying it's another attempt by the CBC to change Canadians' minds about prejudice and discrimination through humour. I don't see anything wrong with that. Yes, it has CBC fingerprints all over it and yes, it looks like a typical CBC show, but having never seen a show on Muslims, I can safely say it's a first. As such, it should be given a chance to prove its humour. As one of the characters in the series says sarcastically, "Muslims are known for their sense of humour."

I kinda hope they put up the episodes on the web, since, starting Tuesday, I'll be back to my student life in Montreal, meaning there will be no TV waiting for me at the end of the day :(

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Muslims are the new Communists

Saturday, December 30, 2006

The profile I have on gay.com states that I prefer rooting for rights in countries where being gay is still an unacceptable way of living rather than rooting for pride parades to cheer for businesses and commercialized events. I say there that I would like to see the day when citizens of "free and democratic" countries stand up and demand from their governments to put pressure on countries like Iran, Pakistan and India, where being gay is the equivalent of a death sentence. here's the contents of a rather interesting chat i had with a stranger tonight...


1:13:06 AM :stranger: how come u r concerned with gays in Iran?
1:14:24 AM :me: because they are the ones ending up stoned and hanged because they are gay...i haven't seen something similar happen here...
1:14:58 AM :stranger: gays in Iran claim they have a wonderful life
1:15:13 AM :stranger: n some turn to Islam here
1:15:42 AM :me: hmmm, when you say "claim", i assume you mean your friends and acquaintances...
1:15:58 AM :stranger: I mean gay guys I talked to
1:16:19 AM :stranger: I got insulted by gay Indian guys once because I was discussing the situation there
1:16:27 AM :me: http://www.globalgayz.com/g-iran.html
1:16:29 AM :stranger: they told me I knew nothing
1:16:44 AM :me: well, it is a bit demeaning to have to criticize your own culture and society...
1:16:51 AM :me: not everyone can do it...
1:17:14 AM :stranger: above all by foreigners
1:17:22 AM :stranger: that is why it is considered none of our business sometimes
1:17:36 AM :stranger: actually only a minority can do it
1:17:38 AM :me: sometimes people are so proud of the culture they grew up in that criticizing it can be harsh..
1:17:44 AM :stranger: n they usually r ostracized
1:17:53 AM :me: what do you mean they "turn to islam here"?
1:18:01 AM :stranger: they criticize it behind doors
1:18:18 AM :stranger: I had a bf who turned back to Islam
1:18:51 AM :stranger: mostly because he felt he could provoke this way but he did not even admit to that
1:19:15 AM :me: hmmm, well, i haven't seen all canadian gays stand up and criticize canada for what it's done in the past [and at times, today] against gay people...the "only a minority can do it" applies to anywhere
1:19:27 AM :me: only the few stand up for the many...most of the time, most places
1:19:35 AM :stranger: but a minority did
1:19:40 AM :stranger: that is why we have rights
1:19:50 AM :me: of course...and in Iran, a minority does speak out...
1:19:52 AM :stranger: not because the homophobes abandonned their stance
1:20:07 AM :stranger: those who do not get hanged
1:20:30 AM :me: yes, i mean, most of the ones who don't...
1:21:04 AM :stranger: it is almost suicidal to confront the current rulers
1:21:12 AM :me: oh, really? why did he go back to Islam? you mean, rejected his sexuality?
1:21:19 AM :me: but some still do it...
1:21:26 AM :stranger: no, he still fucks guys
1:21:33 AM :stranger: he just feel more guilty
1:21:45 AM :stranger: he thinks he leads a sinful life
1:22:02 AM :stranger: n fucks even more guys because that is usually what feeling dirty makes u do
1:22:20 AM :me: interesting...but he's religious?
1:22:30 AM :stranger: do u think so?
1:22:33 AM :stranger: I do not
1:22:44 AM :stranger: I think he found a new way to provoke people
1:22:57 AM :stranger: n feel he is part of a mad crowd
1:22:57 AM :me: what do you mean?
1:23:18 AM :stranger: Muslims r what Communists were decades ago
1:23:41 AM :me: hahahaha... why do you say that?
1:23:48 AM :me: because of the situation in the middle east?
1:23:57 AM :stranger: the situation everywhere
1:24:06 AM :stranger: there is Muslim terrorism in China
1:24:15 AM :stranger: in the Philippines
1:24:46 AM :stranger: so it makes him feel good to be in the tough gang
1:24:53 AM :stranger: being a faggot
1:24:56 AM :me: terrorism? you mean, alleged terrorism China likes to advertise, to make use of its Muslim minority? :P
1:25:06 AM :stranger: I have lived in China
1:25:16 AM :stranger: u do not hear about terrorism on Chinese TV
1:25:16 AM :me: right...
1:25:25 AM :me: no, but the world does
1:25:26 AM :stranger: u hear from mouth to mouth
1:25:37 AM :stranger: n it is not true?
1:25:45 AM :stranger: u never heard about the Ouighour?
1:26:05 AM :stranger: and about Mindanao?
1:26:30 AM :me: yes, and i also heard about twelve Ouighour "alleged" terrorists who were kept in Guantanamo for four years before it was finally decided they had nothing to do with terrorism...but they couldn't be
1:26:36 AM :me: returned to china for fear of torture
1:26:41 AM :me: so they sent them to albania
1:26:42 AM :me: :P
1:27:04 AM :stranger: that is horrible compared to the vacation prisons in Irak
1:27:25 AM :me: i am not saying either is good...but you're changing the subject
1:27:29 AM :stranger: we all know that Islam is a tolerant religion
1:27:42 AM :stranger: really? I m changing the subject?
1:28:21 AM :me: guantanamo / irak / albania ...very comparable
1:28:29 AM :stranger: really? I do not think so
1:28:40 AM :me: tell me why that is
1:28:42 AM :stranger: it is too easy to all put in the same basket
1:29:08 AM :me: of course...which is why i am saying it is comparable...
1:29:15 AM :me: not identical
1:29:42 AM :stranger: it is easy to talk about a place that has been mediaticized
1:29:57 AM :stranger: when most prisons in Muslim countries have not
1:30:11 AM :stranger: u think jails in Morocco r a nice place?
1:30:16 AM :stranger: or in Egypt?
1:30:24 AM :me: oh, don't even start with that...the west sees anything Muslim as disgusting...
1:30:28 AM :me: let alone prisons
1:30:37 AM :stranger: n it is not?
1:31:01 AM :me: you think it is?
1:31:19 AM :stranger: u have never heard about genocides in India?
1:31:24 AM :stranger: or in Afghanistan?
1:31:43 AM :me: and...i am supposed to blame all Muslims for it?
1:32:05 AM :stranger: not Muslims but the ideas
1:32:13 AM :me: Muslim ideas?
1:32:18 AM :stranger: Islamic ideas
1:32:31 AM :stranger: Islam is a very aggressive religion
1:32:39 AM :stranger: it has always been
1:32:52 AM :me: interesting...it sounds like the Pope would have nodded at your comments :)
1:32:57 AM :stranger: u think north Africa has become Muslim because they were in love with Arabs
1:33:15 AM :stranger: the Pope is too coward to say anything
1:33:21 AM :stranger: close to the reality of history
1:33:27 AM :me: no, it became Muslim because Islam was the first monotheistic religion to leave race out of religion
1:33:36 AM :stranger: really?
1:33:50 AM :stranger: it became Muslim because they hard swords
1:34:01 AM :stranger: who cared about racism?
1:34:02 AM :me: are you quoting the pope now?
1:34:10 AM :stranger: they all thought they were the top race
1:34:17 AM :me: Christians did...they used blacks as slaves, going back to the romans
1:34:23 AM :stranger: I can quote many
1:34:37 AM :stranger: I do not waste my time reading inquisitors
1:34:50 AM :stranger: slaves sold by the Muslims
1:35:07 AM :me: it's funny because from your writing, it sounds so similar to Pope speeches :)
1:35:09 AM :stranger: the Romans were not Christians should I remind u
1:35:16 AM :stranger: so what?
1:35:21 AM :me: Muslims aren't allowed to be involved in slave trade...
1:35:29 AM :me: so, nothing...you have lots in common :)
1:35:37 AM :stranger: really? who sold the slaves to the English?
1:35:50 AM :me: starting in 300, roman empire was christian
1:35:51 AM :me: :)
1:36:01 AM :stranger: n Muhammad had his own slave girl to fuck
1:36:03 AM :me: 300 AD
1:36:29 AM :me: review your knowledge of history, improve on your ignorance and then pretend you know what you're talking about :))

And I blocked him off.... :))

Wow...the world is far from where it should be...

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