Charte des valeurs québécoises – Une neutralité trompeuse | Le Devoir

2013/09/29 Leave a comment

Charles Taylor on the proposed Charter. Sensible as always, and reminding people that religions and expressions of faith vary by religion, and simplistic “neutrality” solutions are anything but neutral.

Pour les « sans-religion » et les tenants d’une religion « discrète », la Charte ne pose pas problème. Elle réserve toutefois un autre sort aux « indiscrets ». Les premiers pourront postuler sans problème des emplois dans le secteur public. Les autres, par contre, seront mis devant un choix déchirant : ou bien ils renoncent à pratiquer leur religion, ou bien ils seront à jamais exclus des secteurs public et parapublic. Cacher leur religion équivaut en partie, pour eux, à la renier et, partant, à renier leur identité.

Les apparences mur à mur de la neutralité de l’État cacheront une réalité tout autre, une discrimination évidente. L’étiquette sur la bouteille nous trompera sur son contenu.

Devrait-on s’étonner que les victimes de ce jeu de trompe-l’oeil se sentent trahies par une société québécoise qui ne cesse de leur promettre l’égalité ?

Charte des valeurs québécoises – Une neutralité trompeuse | Le Devoir.

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Muslims finding common ground with Christians: The path to peace – The Globe and Mail

2013/09/29 Leave a comment

A good example of an inter-faith initiative, Common Word, trying to reduce violence between Muslims and Christians. While I am not sure how effective this initiative will be among the more militant fundamentalists, it nevertheless is providing a forum and space for moderates, and respect for the commonalities among different faiths.

Muslims finding common ground with Christians: The path to peace – The Globe and Mail.

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Convert one woman, you convert an entire family: Unveiling the rise in female terrorism around the globe

2013/09/29 Leave a comment

On women and terrorism. While still mainly a phenomenon of young men, not limited to them. The article has a broader perspective than Muslim terrorists, mentioning early Russian anarchists, Germany’s Baader-Meinhoff gang, the IRA, Basque ETA, Tamil Tigresses etc.

Convert one woman, you convert an entire family: Unveiling the rise in female terrorism around the globe.

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Charte des valeurs: Interesting Silence

2013/09/28 Leave a comment

An interesting commentary on the silence of Quebec National Assembly member Fatima Houda-Pepin, who in the past has been one of the most vocal speakers on the risks of Islamic fundamentalists and sharia law. I had a number of discussions with her during a study tour in Holland a number of years ago, and she is  impressive and worth listening to. From a 2012 interview, worth reading from an integration perspective:

« J’ai un cheminement particulier et ce cheminement-là n’est pas fait par tout le monde », ajoutait-elle. D’origine marocaine, Fatima Houda-Pepin, élue en 1994, est issue d’une « famille très religieuse et pratiquante », précisait-elle. Elle-même a fréquenté l’école coranique. Mais la religion, c’était pour elle « la joie, le partage, la musique » avec des amies juives et chrétiennes aussi. « J’ai connu le fondamentalisme en arrivant au Canada », a-t-elle signalé.

« Quel choc, à mon arrivée au Canada, il y a 35 ans, confiait-elle à La Presse en 2007. J’y ai découvert des cercles d’endoctrinement où les femmes sont voilées entre elles, à l’intérieur de leurs propres maisons. » Elle disait avoir reçu un deuxième choc : l’indifférence des pouvoirs publics.

Charte des valeurs québécoises – Le silence de Fatima

On the more mundane political level, interesting opposition to the proposed Charter from the politician who after the loss of the 1995 referendum blamed the loss on money and the ethnic vote:

Charte des valeurs: Parizeau s’apprête à sauter dans le débat | DENIS LESSARD | Politique québécoise.

Not surprisingly, the inconsistency between the strong position of the Conservative Minister for Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, and the “I have no problem” position of the Conservative Minister for Quebec, Denis Lebel, gets criticized:

Charte des valeurs: Denis Lebel attaqué par les libéraux

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Canada’s human rights museum was meant as a unifying force, but, so far, has only inspired criticism

2013/09/28 Leave a comment

Good overview of some of the criticism from the various communities on how their particular historical experience is portrayed in Canada’s national human rights museum in Winnipeg, opening next year. There is no way to satisfy any or all of the groups completely, given the nature of their experience and the understandable strong feelings that each of them have on how it is depicted.

And to further complicate matters, each group looks at their experience both in the particular sense, as well as making comparisons with how other groups are portrayed (or not).

However, one positive outcome (hopefully) will be more discussion about the historical experiences of these communities, and improve awareness.

Canada’s human rights museum was meant as a unifying force, but, so far, has only inspired criticism | National Post.

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As a student of David Gilmour, and a feminist, I say put away the rope – The Globe and Mail

2013/09/28 Leave a comment

A bit off topic but as it relates to political correctness, have been following the “public lynching” of David Gilmour, a well-known author and professor at University of Toronto, who in a clumsy interview, explained why he only teaches male authors because those are the ones he relates to best.

Given that UofT also offers specialized courses by geographic region and community (e.g., Canlit, American, African, Asian, British and Jewish literature), gender (including LGBT), Shakespeare,  post-colonial etc., I find the criticism excessive. Students can choose or not to take the course, and the issue for the university is not that each course should be a survey type course. Rather, the English department has to ensure that there is a full-range of course themes to provide students with a broad perspective on writing and literature, and looking at the undergraduate calendar, that would appear to be the case.

As a student of David Gilmour, and a feminist, I say put away the rope – The Globe and Mail.

David Gilmour controversy: Margaret Atwood says universities places for ‘free expression’

‘Down the hall’ from David Gilmour

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PQ leader Pauline Marois losing her feminist allies: Hébert | Toronto Star

2013/09/27 Leave a comment

One of the ironies of the debate over the proposed Charter.

PQ leader Pauline Marois losing her feminist allies: Hébert | Toronto Star.

And in other Charter-related news, Tom Mulcair, Leader of the Official Opposition and NDP, maintains his position against the proposed Charter but will not provide any funding for a legal challenge, trimming his sails somewhat:

Charte des valeurs québécoises – Thomas Mulcair modère ses intentions

And no surprise, the hijab is largely accepted, the niqab is not. Previous polls in English Canada are similar; covering the face is rejection and separation, not integration:

Pour certaines personnes, c’est le concept de la domination homme-femme. D’autres ont tout simplement un sentiment anti-islam. Mais il y a aussi le fait que le niqab crée une distance entre les gens qui est en dehors des normes sociales. Des gens vivent un inconfort par rapport à ça.

Sondage sur la tolérance des Québécois: le hijab oui, le niqab non

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Why Teach Multicultural Literature? | Bhakti Shringarpure

2013/09/27 Leave a comment

I would call it world literature, and agree that more exposure to different perspectives is better (and we are fortunate in Canada to have many Canadian writers who draw upon their formative experiences in their country of origin).

This is a bit of an over-the-top debate between a student, commenting on Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and his professor, Bhakti Shringarpure. However, illustrates the sensitivities of some.

Why Teach Multicultural Literature? | Bhakti Shringarpure.

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Muslim extremism: That’s just calling it like it is | Toronto Sun

2013/09/27 2 Comments

A number of columns by critics of Islam and Muslims (Michael Coren, Farzana Hassan), who focus on the extremists among them, without recognizing that all religions have their fundamentalists, conservatives and extremists, as well as the majority who are more moderate believers.

The issue is more how extremism manifests itself; unfortunately, in the case of Muslims, it manifests itself in terrorism and blowing people up. And that is the problem, unlike most other communities where it is more internal to how people live their lives (e.g., the choices made by conservative Jews, Christians, Sikhs and the like), although there are also issues from an integration perspective.

I could not find the source reference to Imam Soharwardy (the Calgary Imam referred to in the second article), just the blog commenting on it without a direct link.

Muslim extremism: That’s just calling it like it is | Home | Toronto Sun.

Calgary imam to Muslims: “Go home”

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Deeper Than God: Ronald Dworkin’s Religious Atheism

2013/09/26 Leave a comment

A good review and overview by Stanley Fish in the NYTimes of Ronald Dworkin’s last book, Religion without God. Some of the argumentation is complex, but treating belief and non-belief as equal rights (freedom of and freedom from religion), and how liberals recreate an ethnical framework, is of interest. Quote:

By “ethical independence” Dworkin means the individual’s independence to decide for himself or herself how to acknowledge the “felt conviction that the universe really does embody a sublime beauty.” One form of acknowledgment might be the practice of theism — traditional religion with its rituals, sacred texts, formal prayers, proscribed and prescribed activities; but the conviction of the universe’s beauty does not, says Dworkin, “suppose any god” as its ground. Once we see this, we are on the way to “decoupling religion from a god” and admitting into the ranks of the religious those who are possessed by that conviction but do not trace it back to any deity. They will be, Dworkin declares, “religious atheists.”

Deeper Than God: Ronald Dworkin’s Religious Atheism

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