January 31-2014
. . . disgusted
The province of Quebec is holding hearings about proposed legislation banning the headscarf for public employees and one woman’s testimony on her disgust at seeing Muslims pray has drawn considerable reaction.
Genevieve Caron does not believe the Quebec government is going far enough with its proposal on headscarves. She and her husband, Claude Pinault, testified in a personal capacity at the province’s public hearings last Thursday.
If adopted, the proposal would force public sector employees to remove religious symbols, such as headscarves, kippas, turbans and large (but not small) crucifixes, if they want to keep their jobs.
The testimony of all individuals and groups in Quebec who have asked to appear at the hearings will be heard over the next few months, regardless of their connection to the legislation.
Caron’s testimony focused on her trip to Morocco and revealed her shock at the customs she saw visiting a mosque.
“We entered a mosque and we were told to remove our shoes,” she recounted. “What do you mean? Why would we need to do that?”
She described how those coming to pray would kneel on a large carpet inside the mosque.
“I asked, ‘What’s going on here?’” she said. “There were men on the ground on all fours.”
“Voyons! What are they doing? He [presumably the tour guide] told me that they were praying…. What’s this all about?”
She detailed how they discovered a large curtain behind which the women were praying on all fours as well. “I was scarred by this!” she said. “I got back on the bus and I said to myself, ‘How can this be?’”
The testimony offended many who watched Caron on television as she gave her testimony in French. Many called her a bigot and asked what her visit to the mosque had to do with the proposed legislation on headscarves. Others called her rude for criticizing the prayer customs of another faith she was unfamiliar with. But some others picked up her reference to gender segregation in the mosque and called Islam unfair to women.