"Clear hate speech"
<https://news.vice.com/story/the-quran-was-torn-to-shreds-at-a-raucous-schoo
l-board-meeting-in-peel-region> The Quran was torn to shreds at a raucous
meeting in Peel Region, where parents demanded the school board ban a Muslim
prayer
The Quran was torn to shreds at a raucous school board meeting in Peel
Region
By <https://news.vice.com/story/author/tamara-khandaker> Tamara Khandaker
on Mar 23, 2017
A Toronto-area school board says it "cannot continue" to engage with the
public on the subject of religious accommodation, following a board meeting
that devolved into what a spokesperson described as "clear hate speech" and
included someone ripping up the Quran.
A group of enraged parents behind a months-long campaign to end the
accommodation of Jummah - a congregational Muslim prayer held on Friday
afternoons - were cleared out of the Peel Region District School Board
meeting, in Mississauga, on Thursday.
A police and security presence was heavy from the start of the meeting,
which quickly went off the rails, after the board announced they wouldn't
respond to a petition demanding the end of the accommodation, which has
gathered 600 signatures, until their next meeting.
As one trustee attempted to discuss retirements, a parent sitting in the
front row began making retching noises. Others, already riled up because the
start of the event was delayed, followed, screaming that they were being
disrespected as taxpayers.
Ron Banerjee, head of the hardline anti-Muslim group Canadian Hindu
Advocacy, was in the crowd, as were tens of his supporters, mostly South
Asian and white parents.
"Have you read this book?" screamed one woman, holding up a copy of what
appeared to be the Quran. "You would be shocked. Read it, so you know what's
happening."
"We don't want religion in schools," bellowed another woman. "Leave our kids
alone." In response to one parent who attempted to shout down those in the
room who were "spewing hate," she said she didn't hate anyone and was
opposed to the presence of any religion in schools.
But when a man sitting a few rows above her said "People died today because
of that book," invoking the London terrorist attack on Wednesday - which
left three people dead and for which the Islamic State has claimed
responsibility - she joined him, yelling, "You guys killed four people
today."
One man ripped up a copy of the Quran and threw its pages towards the front
of the room, and another person walked on the pages. They remained scattered
all over the floor for the remainder of the meeting.
For several minutes, the trustees waited for the crowd to settle down, but
parents, who were warned that they would be kicked out if they continued to
disrupt the meeting, would not relent, prompting the board to pack up their
things and file out of the room. As they walked out, a group of parents
started singing the national anthem.
Board chair Janet MacDougald said the board was "appalled as a Board by the
anti-Muslim rhetoric and prejudice we have seen on social media, read in
emails, and heard first-hand at our board meetings."
"It has caused some of our students to feel unsafe, to feel targeted. We
must not allow hatred toward any faith group to flourish," she said. "We
will not stand for that."
Jummah prayers have been accommodated in Peel schools for two decades
without issue, as required by the Ontario Human Rights Code, which states
that only cost or health and safety risks should prevent religious
accommodations from being granted.
The accommodation only became an issue after a policy introduced by the
board in 2016, requiring students to read only from sermons approved by the
board, was overturned following backlash from members of the Muslim
community.
The school board issued a fact sheet on Wednesday in response to
"misinformation and errors that have been shared in the community and on
social media," in which they explained that Friday prayer has no impact on
other students, as they "try to find a time when students are already out of
class-lunch for example-or if in class, 15 minutes at the start or finish of
the class," and that students are supervised by a volunteer staff member in
an already open space, thus resulting in no undue hardship.
A few weeks ago, Brampton mayor Linda Jeffrey condemned the campaign against
the accommodation, calling it "hateful."
"Muslim students require a time to pray that may happen during a school day,
and we must respect that - as we do any other religious requirement," she
wrote in a statement. "Letting Muslim students pray for 20 minutes in an
empty space with the supervision of volunteer staff does not cause any
financial hardship."
