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Céline Dion Had Likely Cultural & social affairs Department OIC islamophobia Observatory Monthly Bulletin – November 2013 I. Manifestations of Islamophobia: 1. US: 10-Year Old Booted from Bus for Speaking Arabic – “A new lawsuit filed Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court charges that a 10-year-old Brooklyn boy was called a “terrorist” and banned from boarding a bus when he recited a Muslim prayer in Arabic after losing his MetroCard. According to the family’s lawyer, Hyder Naqvi, the boy was trying to board a bus home from school in Sheepshead Bay in October 2012 when he realized he had lost his MetroCard. He recited the following prayer in Arabic as he searched for, and found, his card: “I stand in the name of God the most merciful, the most beneficent.” After hearing him do so, the driver became angry, called the boy a “terrorist,” and slammed the door shut…”.* In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2013/10/31/10-year-old-booted-from-bus-for-speaking-arabic/, retrieved on 06.11.2013 2. Canada: Céline Dion, Not Only Can’t She Sing but She Also Is a Bigot – Céline Dion had likely become the most famous celebrity to have thrown support behind the Parti Québécois’s proposed “Charter of Quebec Values.” Dion said she did so because “foreigners” (all Muslims are by default “foreigners“) needed to adapt to “our country” (If you’re a Muslim born in Canada you still aren’t Canadian) that had been so “hospitable” to them. Maybe Premier Pauline Marois would want to re-consider her decision on Saturday (03 November) not to call a general election in fall 2013, after the Parti Québécois’s proposed “Charter of Quebec Values” had picked up the biggest endorsement of them all. As of Sunday (04 November) night, Céline Dion had not yet been recruited by her friend, PQ supporter Julie Snyder, as an official member of the “Janettes,” the group of celebrities and other women who support the PQ’s proposed anti-hijab law. And Quebec’s biggest female celebrity of them all did not join Saturday (03 Nov)’s march in Montreal by the Janettes’ supporters, some of whom called for the “liberation” of Muslim women. But here’s what Dion said when she was asked about the charter in an interview with Maclean’s posted on the magazine’s website on Saturday (03 Nov) evening: Q: Lucien Bouchard once called you Quebec’s greatest ambassador. With that in mind, Amnesty International just declared Quebec’s controversial charter of values as a limit on fundamental rights that further stigmatizes vulnerable women. Do you agree with Amnesty? A: It’s a very delicate question to answer because I’ll hurt some people and please others but you have to have an opinion. For me, it’s not about the veil—it’s beyond that. I’m not against what people wear but if you go to the hospital, and you are in Quebec and we have embraced you and opened our country for you to live in a better world, you have to adapt to our rules. If the doctor is a boy or a girl, you’re gonna see the doctor that [is] sent to [treat] you. You 1 can’t just say, “My religion doesn’t permit me to see a woman or a male doctor.” That’s the problem for me. If I’m going to see a doctor and he is gay, I’m not going to have a problem with that. It should not be an issue. Q: Yet you’ve stood up for women’s causes throughout the years. A: Of course! It’s just that these women who practise the things they believe in have to adapt to our country. They have to not change our laws. Because you have a lot of Anglican or veiled women in a school—you can’t just take off the [Catholic] cross from the walls, or take down Christmas trees. If I go live in their country and have to be veiled, I will. In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2013/11/04/celine-dion-not-only-cant-she-sing-but-she-also-is-a-bigot/, retrieved on 06.11.2013 3. US: Volusia parents protest chapter on Islam – A school board meeting was postponed Tuesday (05 November) after upset Volusia County (Florida) parents said a world history textbook in schools statewide taught children more about Islam than other religions. Parents in Volusia County said the book had an entire chapter on Islam but did not give the same attention to other religions. They protested outside school district headquarters, calling for equal education. Demonstrators on both sides had a heated discussion. Hassan Shibly, CAIR Florida executive director, said: “The people behind this movement are reflecting a national trend of hate groups that are promoting hatred of their Muslim neighbors. I think that’s un- American and it’s frankly just promoting intolerance, and right now what I think our community needs is to learn from each other.” The Volusia County School Board said it postponed its meeting “in the interest of public safety”. The district said it was contacted by the U.S. Department of Justice before the meeting was supposed to start and said “the nature of this information raised substantial safety concerns.” The district said with the information it received, it decided to put more security measures in place to make sure everyone at the meeting would be safe. The district said it did not comment on procedures but did said there was no specific threat of violence. In: http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/volusia-parents-protest-chapter-islam-textbook/nbjBm/, retrieved on 06.11.2013 Related: Florida school board rejects Islamophobic hysteria over history textbook – The School Board decided Monday (18 November) after hearing four hours of public comments about its merits and shortcomings that a world history textbook that sparked a heated controversy over the way it covered Islam would remain in Volusia County high schools. School Board Chairwoman Diane Smith said after hearing from nearly 80 speakers with widely differing opinions: “I’m still confident with this book and its presentation to our students.” The board did not take a formal vote, but only member Linda Costello pushed for a more thorough review. Candace Lankford, Stan Schmidt and Ida Wright sided with Smith to keep the textbook in Volusia classrooms. Walter Hanford, a book opponent who stuck around long enough to hear the board discussion, said: “It’s kind of what I would have expected,” adding that he told the board earlier in the meeting the “World History” textbook published by Prentice Hall “whitewashes” the history of Islam and its Muslim followers, including involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. The textbook controversy erupted in early November 2013 after a Deltona High parent complained about the book’s treatment of the Islamic religion to a Lake County friend, who posted information on Facebook and organized a protest rally before the School Board’s Nov. 5 meeting. The Nov. 5 meeting was canceled before it began over security concerns and the controversy has continued to simmer, with Volusia County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Tony Ledbetter taking leadership of the textbook protest. The atmosphere at Nov 18’s meeting was quieter with opponents and supporters of the textbook filling the boardroom to overflowing while a small number of people milled around outside. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/florida-school-board-rejects-islamophobic-hysteria-over-history-textbook/#more-25997, retrieved on 21.11.2013 2 4. France: Far-right graffiti on two mosques in Besançon – La Dépêche reported that two mosques at Besançon in eastern France had been desecrated with racist and fascist graffiti. Three swastikas, accompanied by the slogans “France for the French”, “Vive la France”, “Arabs out” and “death to Muslims” were sprayed on the Al-Fath mosque. A swastika and the words “Long live the FN” (Front National) were also found on the wall of the Souna mosque. This was not the first time the mosques had been attacked. In August 2013, an SS sign, a Celtic cross an Odal rune and the words “Vive la France” were sprayed on the Souna mosque. In February 2013, Star of David graffiti was daubed on both the Souna and Al-Fath mosques. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/far-right-graffiti-on-two-mosques-in-besancon/#more-25203, retrieved on 06.11.2013 5. Australia: Racist vandalized graffiti Queensland mosque – A mosque in Cairns in far north Queensland had been targeted by vandals. The front of the Cairns North mosque was sprayed with large red letters early on 04 November, calling for the worshippers to “integrate” or return to their “homelands”. The attack has been condemned by local political leaders. The Federal Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch, said it was laughable, given the Imam’s family had as history in the far north dating back more than a century, adding: “He’s got an accent that’s broader than mine and I think as a community we need to be able to get behind Abdul and his community…They are part of our rich culture, and any suggestion they are anything other than that is an absolute nonsense. It shows you the small-minded minority that we have in this town.” In: http://www.loonwatch.com/2013/11/racist-vandals-graffiti-queensland-mosque/, retrieved on 07.11.2013 3 6. Canada: Survey Shows Islamophobia on the rise in Quebec – A survey showed that Islamophobic abuse had soared in the Canadian province of Quebec since the government proposed a ban on religious symbols for public workers.
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