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Thousands protest in Montreal against religious symbol ban

Members of Quebec's Muslim, Sikh communities rally against plan to ban public employees from wearing conspicuously visible religious symbols. Jewish group doesn’t attend because of Yom Kippur

Thousands marched through the streets of Montreal on Saturday afternoon to denounce Quebec’s proposed plan to forbid public employees from wearing conspicuously visible religious symbols — including hijabs, turbans, yarmulkes and larger-than-average crucifixes.

 

The rally, which drew many members of the Muslim and Sikh communities, called on Premier Pauline Marois to put an end to “politics of division.”

 

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“This is a time for all religions to come together for what they believe in,” said Noman Safdar, a 24-year-old engineer who was holding up a sign reading "Multi-faith gathering for peace."

 

Safdar, originally from Pakistan and wearing a Muslim cap, said “We came here for freedom. You can’t go and impose things on people like this.”

 

The plan, unveiled last week, has sparked a heated debate.

 

The Star.com reported that while opinion polls indicate there is some support for the charter, mainly in the province’s outlying regions, opponents have called it discriminatory.

 

The Parti Quebecois government, which holds a minority in the provincial legislature, contends the move is necessary to ensure the public service presents a neutral face and protects equality between men and women.

 

'We came here for freedom.' Rally in Montreal 

 

For many at the rally, though, the most immediate concern was how such a law would limit their job prospects.

 

Salma Ahmed, a 17-year-old Muslim high school student who wears a hijab, said she doesn’t want her career options to be hampered.

 

“We’re all really worried at school,” said Ahmed, who came to the rally with several friends who also wear headscarves.

 

'End politics of division'

 

One popular chant referred to her proposal as the “charter of shame.” Another, which derided the premier for the “politics of division,” finished with the punch line: “Quebec is not France.”

 

Marois has praised France's secular integration model, which includes a ban on hijabs in schools.

 

Harbhajan Singh, a 60-year-old Sikh who wears a turban, said he worries the proposed law could lead to a “brain drain” like the one he witnessed following the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.

 

“We have been living very peacefully here, with no problems,” said Singh, who emigrated from India 40 years ago.

 

A Jewish group said it decided not to participate in the rally because it was planned for the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur.

 

Quebec’s Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it’s against the charter of values but doesn’t want to be associated with some of the organizers, which included the Quebec Collective Against Islamophobia.

 

In a statement, the group said the Jewish community “will not accept to be co-opted or manipulated by the dubious objectives of some of the organizers of the demonstration, who include religious radical fundamentalists with whom the Jewish community will never make common cause.”

  

 

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פרסום ראשון: 09.16.13, 08:25
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