Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
National

Government Has Tarnished Views Of Muslims, Says Zunera Ishaq, Woman At Heart Of Niqab Debate

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Oct, 2015 12:08 PM
    TORONTO — The woman whose fight to wear a niqab during her Canadian citizenship ceremony has unexpectedly become a dominant election issue fears the raging debate has tarnished Canadians' views of her fellow Muslims.
     
    Zunera Ishaq said much of the discussion swirling around the issue in recent weeks has been based on misconceptions about Islam, the niqab and the women who embrace both.
     
    She attributed much of that misinformation to the Conservative government, accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper of turning her personal choice into a national vote-getting strategy.
     
    She added she fears the tactic may be working.
     
     
    A spokesman for Harper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
     
    Ishaq said the Canadian public is not being well-informed.
     
    "They are being misguided by the government on this particular issue," she told The Canadian Press in an interview.
     
    "They were of the view that Muslim women who are wearing the niqab objected to show their identity for security purposes, but that's not the case .... The image of Muslim women, and as a whole the Muslim community, has been damaged by this."
     
    Calgary Mayor Disappointed Niqab Issue A "flashpoint" In Federal Campaign
     
    Calgary's mayor has toned down his criticism of the Conservative government for its handling of the niqab issue.
     
    Naheed Nenshi ripped the Conservative's position as politically motivated and "dangerous" in an interview last week and then got into a war of words on the issue with Defence Minister Jason Kenney.
     
     
    But Nenshi, who attended a citizenship ceremony this morning, stayed away from those words, saying he was disappointed the issue has become such a "flashpoint" in the current campaign.
     
    He is urging Canadians to vote for the Canada they want, but shied away from any criticism of the Conservative government.
     
    Nenshi says human rights are fundamentally urban issues and immigrants primarily move to cities with the hope of living a better life.
     
    The issue of religious accommodation and specifically banning the wearing of face coverings during citizenship ceremonies has become one of the campaign's most contentious issues, particularly in seat-rich Quebec.
     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Vancouver Searching For New City Manager After Announcing Penny Ballem Out

    Vancouver Searching For New City Manager After Announcing Penny Ballem Out
    Mayor Gregor Robertson said Tuesday that council voted in an in-camera meeting to end Ballem's contract, under which she will receive $556,000 in severance.

    Vancouver Searching For New City Manager After Announcing Penny Ballem Out

    P.K. Subban Pledges $10 Million To Montreal Children's Hospital

    P.K. Subban Pledges $10 Million To Montreal Children's Hospital
    The hospital is calling the money the largest philanthropic commitment ever made by a professional athlete in Canada.

    P.K. Subban Pledges $10 Million To Montreal Children's Hospital

    Canada's High Immigrant Population Impacts Literacy Survey Scores, Report Says

    Canada's average showing in an international survey of adult literacy doesn't paint the full picture of where the country stands due to its high proportion of immigrants, according to a new report.

    Canada's High Immigrant Population Impacts Literacy Survey Scores, Report Says

    RCMP Reveal Five Arrests, Charges, After May Kidnapping In Penticton, B.C.

    RCMP in Penticton, B.C., are reporting the arrests of five men as officers put the finishing touches on a kidnapping investigation that began nearly four months ago.

    RCMP Reveal Five Arrests, Charges, After May Kidnapping In Penticton, B.C.

    Canada To Take On U.S. In 2016 Women's World Hockey Championship Opener

    Canada To Take On U.S. In 2016 Women's World Hockey Championship Opener
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Canada will open the 2016 women's world hockey championships in Kamloops, B.C., against the United States.

    Canada To Take On U.S. In 2016 Women's World Hockey Championship Opener

    Body Of Missing Nova Scotia Police Officer Found, Man Taken Into Custody

    Body Of Missing Nova Scotia Police Officer Found, Man Taken Into Custody
    Homicide investigators in Halifax are interviewing a 27-year-old man taken into custody in connection with the death of a Nova Scotia police officer, but say they don't believe the murder is related to the officer's work.

    Body Of Missing Nova Scotia Police Officer Found, Man Taken Into Custody