VIDEO: Culture clash! Québécois uncomfortable with Muslims importing their customs to Canada

The Québec National Assembly's Committee on Institutions has now begun hearings on the province's proposed Charter of Québec Values. If passed into law, the Charter would affirm the secular humanist values of "modern Québec" and severely restrict the religious and cultural "accommodation" of immigrants and religious minorities.

For example, the Charter would ban the wearing by public servants of overtly religious symbols, particularly headgear such as turbans and hijabs. See "What Québec's new Charter of Values will and will not do".

The proposed Charter has been denounced by the usual suspects as racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Sikh, ŷada yada yada. It can certainly be seen as blowback against political correctness, multiculturalism and the "celebration of diversity" which the Canadian government keeps saying is good for the country. The Bloc Québécois government itself has warned the vizmins that they'd better accommodate themselves to the values of their adopted country, not the other way around. See "Accept Québec values, black PQ minister warns immigrants".

The hearings now being held in the provincial capital are an opportunity for everyone -- not just the usual coterie of pundits, politicians and other "experts" -- to express their opinions. Even ordinary people are allowed to speak. Three such "real people" appeared on the 16th. Here's a short video of the testimony of Geneviève Caron and Claude Pineault, telling the commission about their experience travelling to Morocco and Turkey, countries that have a large Muslim majority.

For those who have difficulty understanding Québec French, Ed. has posted (below) a transcript of M Pineault's remarks, from Hansard, the official record of the proceedings. We'll add a précis, in English, below the video.



Recounting her visit to a mosque in Morocco, where she was asked to remove her shoes, Mme Caron said she reluctantly gave up her footwear, following the customary Muslim practice, only to find women and men praying on their hands and knees in separate quarters of the temple. "I remained really marked by this," she continued. "I got back on the bus and said, 'Could this be? Praying on all fours on a carpet?'".

M Pineault, her husband, spoke about visiting an open-air market in Tangier. While looking for souvenirs to buy, he had his pocket picked by two people who were wearing some kind of religious headgear. "Who was under these disguises? Women? Men? I don’t know." he said. "What I do know, is that it’s unthinkable to allow people to walk around in Quebec, in the streets, in public places — really anywhere besides homes and private places — with such disguises."

Bernard Drainville, the minister responsible for getting the Charter through the National Assembly, replied that many Muslims who come to Québec integrate quite well. He told M Pineault that he didn't want to send the message that people from other countries are a menace to Québec society.

The hearings continue.

Further reading on WWW: "Nobody likes the Charter of Québec Values...except the people!"