Irshad Manji on gay-straight alliances
NEWS / Speaks against Muslim prayer groups in public schools
Xtra staff / National / Thursday, September 29, 2011
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Irshad Manji is the author of Allah, Liberty and Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom, in which she takes aim at identity politics and the sacred cows of Islam.

In a Sept 28 interview with Xtra, she weighs in on the matter of gay-straight alliances in Ontario's Catholic schools. “Abolish the separate school system,” she says. She also speaks against the creation of Muslim prayer rooms in public schools. She singles out Toronto’s Valley Park Middle School, which is offering imam-led prayer sessions in a bid to keep Muslim students from skipping classes to attend religious services outside the school.

We'll have more of our interview online soon. In the meantime, see our piece on Manji from earlier this summer.

Manji will be appearing on Thursday, Sept 29 at 7pm at Norfolk United Church, 75 Norfolk St, Guelph. For more information, click here.


Irshad Manji, the author of Allah, Liberty and Love.




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Reader Comments


 
Your Actions will Accomplish much, Irshad!
Please, Irshad, make a difference and show up at the school and force this school board's (the Toronto District School Board) hand! Your celebrity will do it. The equal treatment of Muslim women in every Ontario governmental establishment is at stake. Help us save us from a new dark ages where Muslim women are denied the same equality rights as others.
woka, woka Ontario
09/29/11 5:47 PM EST
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Irshad Manji...
...is such an idiot. Why, oh why, do we continue to give her airtime?
Rick, London Ontario
09/30/11 12:51 PM EST
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What is idiotic about her ideas, Rick?
What is she saying in this interview that makes her an idiot, Rick? I know that her views are not WELL ACCEPTED in the Muslim community, but what makes her ideas idiotic? That's the problem with religion in state-run schools. People like her will be silenced because they're not main stream. Religious accommodation will solidify fundamentalist Islam in Ontario for generations to come as ultra Conservatives are the ones who will set the parameters for prayer rooms. Look at who speaks in the Catholic schools.
woka, woka Ontario
09/30/11 6:35 PM EST
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I apologize for my son's rudeness
I take full responsibility for the outburst of my son, Rick. I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot to pack his meds in with his lunch. My apologies. Also, this: Keep up the excellent work, Irshad! Even Rick applauds you quite regularly, when he's well.
Rick's mom, London Ontario
09/30/11 10:01 PM EST
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Why would a queer argue against accommodation?
Um yeah. Irshad? Those Muslim prayer rooms in schools? That's called "reasonable accommodation." It's a product of this "draconian" thing called human rights law. The "backwards" premise is that, even if we don't agree with somebody's sexual orientation or religion, or ethnic background or whatever, we take reasonable steps to accommodate their differences in order to help create a more peaceful and welcoming society. Part of the premise is that, just because you're a Muslim who thinks other Muslims are wrong, you don't get to trample on their right to pray as they see fit. And really, thank goodness. Because if you can tell other Muslims what to do, next thing you know, those anti-marriage queers will be running around saying we should all have our right to marry taken away and expecting politicians to listen to them too. Seriously. If you're so secure in your belief system, why do you feel the need to push it on other people?
Not Muslim but Not Narrow, Ottawa On
10/02/11 1:26 PM EST
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Human not religious rights
@Not Muslim - a huge proportion of opposition to our struggle for our rights, came from the various religious communities, and still does. You are confusing reasonable accommodation for religious groups to human rights for everyone of all religious stripes. Especially women, let alone gays. I ask you, where does it end? If we allow prayer rooms for devout muslims, will they then be allowed to segregate women within it? This is common practice in conservative mosques. Ironically, this segregation is also practiced in orthodox synagogues. Let me know when you are successful in getting reasonable accommodation for women and gays in these cultures and several fundamentalist Christian ones too.
Brian Waite, Vancouver BC
10/02/11 1:46 PM EST
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Religious rights ARE human rights
Brian, I'm not confusing accomodation for religious communities with human rights for everyone. They are part in parcel of the same thing. The very same Human Rights Code that demands accomodation for, say, people with disabilities demands accomodation for people of different religious backgrounds. You don't get to pick and choose who you want to give rights to just because you don't like some people. That's why human rights law was invented! So what if some members of religious groups are bigots? What are you suggesting? That all members of a given religious group shouldn't have rights and accomodation because of that? That sounds just like the anti-gay activists who said that gays shouldn't have rights because some gays are promiscuous, use drugs or are pedophiles. You don't deny a group of people rights based on the subsection you find undesirable. There are plenty of members of all faith groups, including - gasp! - Muslims, who are very supportive of our rights. Finally, religions do not "segregate women." This is a free country. Women choose to be members of faiths where men and women are separate (and yes, the are separate in the Muslim prayer rooms now). Are you saying we should take away women's free will to choose a faith group that speaks to their needs because you don't approve of their choice? You are not talking about human rights here. You are talking about wanting the law to reflect your personal value system. We, as queers, fought against that for years, and now you are perpetrating the exact same oppression on somebody else. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly queers forget where we came from and what the meaning of our movement really was.
Not Muslim but Not Narrow, Ottawa ON
10/12/11 7:20 PM EST
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re: Religious rights ARE human rights
Very well said Not Muslim but Not Narrow. As a queer atheist I admit I find all religions silly and pointless, well from what I've heard of Buddhism that one sounds about as reasonable as they get, but still I really don't care who chooses to believe in whatever religion despite my opinions of them and strongly support the religious accommodations in our public schools, which btw are done for students of dozens of different religions according to their needs and not just Muslims, and so long as they are totally optional for students. I wholeheartedly believe that the only way we can guarantee the future of queer equality in Canada is by ensuring everyone's equality no matter if they're religious groups, ethnic groups, political groups or any other sort of social group. Discrimination against anyone is a great risk for everyone since it legitimizes discrimination which they can end up being applied to any group of people in the future depending on how the political winds blow. Its only by ensuring that everyone is protected from discrimination and has full equality in all of our public institutions that we can ensure our own equality. Discrimination, inequality and oppression are the things we must fight against, no matter who is being subjected to them even if they are Muslim, when those things are eliminated from Canada's landscape no one, including queers, will ever have to worry about facing them ever again. I believe that Irshad takes certain positions not out of well thought out convictions but to maintain her credibility with a certain segment of our population. That said I certainly do not support funding one religion's schools over that of any others. The Catholic school system needs to be defunded and religious Catholic students accommodated in our public schools the same as all other religious students..
Rich, Toronto Ontario
10/12/11 10:06 PM EST
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Conflicting and NOT optional
Rich, your lack of understanding is, once again, incredible. Religious rights and gender rights conflict, Rich. Irshad is saying this in the video. She's lived it. She's also pointing out that these prayers are not, in fact, optional. As someone who works in a school, I can attest that these prayers are not optional. They're a way for teachers to force students into prayer to make parents happy. They're certainly going to be difficult for gay students to opt out of should they so choose.
xox, xox Ontario
10/12/11 10:14 PM EST
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So what is big deal
the gay left does not mind Muslims praying in State run Schools but mind if Christians or Jews want to observe religion in State Run schools? Sadly they view Irshad Manji as a racist because she as with many people want religion removed from State run Schools. There is something they should understand. In Canada state and church(religion) are separated. Even Conservatives respect this this notion. But if anything does against the left they scream racist. Sadly even in Israel this is accepted and allowed but do not say this they might call you racist.
this is why, the Gay left Sucks
10/13/11 5:23 PM EST
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Oh Rick.
Dear Rick, You get write whatever you want to on this this wall post - it's called free speech and it's exactly why she should get even more airtime. Read her book, it's thought provoking. Ya know, there are people who are forbidden from reading it. Now that's idiotic!
Raymond Helkio, Toronto Ontario
11/27/11 11:57 PM EST
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Irshad threatened in Holland
Irshad Manji threatened and assaulted by - take a guess - other Muslims in Holland! See the tape here. http://youtu.be/78wMxJCCMsU Xtra should be reporting on this. She knows of what she speaks when she talks about not having prayer rooms in public schools.
woka, woka woka
12/08/11 8:37 PM EST
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Irshad Manji Threatened in Holland
Irshad Manji threatened and assaulted in Holland by - you guessed it - other Muslims calling for Sharia in Europe. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bda_1323384382
woka, woka woka
12/08/11 8:50 PM EST
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Really?
The problem here is the left they seem to think of Christians or Jews want to express their religious views in a public school then it is either racist or illegal since we have a nation with the separation of church and state and this does apply to Muslims. If they want to pray then they can do it in their own religious schools as do Catholics and even Jews or any other religion in Canada. Also Irshad Manji as as with the rest of 99% of society why the far left and even the Gay Left hates her and everyone else is because she and the real 99% refuses to comply to their world view. Also even Steven Harper our Prime Minister is a fundamentalist Christian even he believes in the separation of Church and State. Maybe the Gay left should get the memo they do not even speak for the Gay Community( or anyone) anymore on their "issues". I wonder why they can not understand this.
Ben Johnson, Toronto ON
12/08/11 9:12 PM EST
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Irshad Manji threatened in Holland
Irshad Manji threatened and assaulted in Holland by - you guessed it - other Muslims calling for Sharia in Europe. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bda_1323384382
woka, woka woka
12/08/11 9:34 PM EST
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re: Really?
Ben Johnson why exactly do you assume lefties think Christians or Jews expressing their religious views in public schools "is either racist or illegal"? Or that the separation of church and state, which btw we don't have throughout most of Canada, doesn't apply to Muslims? Please do explain. How do we have separation of church and state when several provinces, like Ontario, fund either in whole or in part either several different religious schools or as in Ontario Catholic schools alone? Public funding of religious schools is not separation of church and state, giving tax exempt status to religious institutions isn't separation of church and state either. What we do have in Canada, for now at least, is separation of church and politics, something much more important that separation of church and state as is more than evidenced by looking at the US where their politics is totally infested with religion but they do have much stricter separation of church and state than Canada does. Forcing any religious belief onto others is wrong, like when the Harper Cons did it by banning aid for international health agencies that provide much needed life saving abortion services. Or like the Harper Cons refusal to support adding gender identity/expression to our human rights laws. Or like how in Ontario unelected Catholic bishops have more say over what happens in public Catholic schools than our politicians elected to do that job do. Our secular public schools do accommodate religious students of every conceivable religion and not just Islam like some choose to believe out of willful ignorance. Check out the TDSB religious accommodation policies for yourself here http://www.tdsb.on.ca/wwwdocuments/programs/Equity_in_Education/docs/Guidelines%20and%20Procedures.pdf and here http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=15&menuid=13976&pageid=12353 Notice how no student is forced to participate in any of religious accommodations they provide.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
12/09/11 2:58 AM EST
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re: Really? cont'd
Ben Johnson please name even just one positive thing that right wingers in Canada have ever done for queer Canadians and enlighten us. Not things they didn't do to us but could've done if we didn't have a Charter of Rights but actual positive things they've done for Canadian queers. You can't because there is nothing at all they've done to benefit Canadian queers, not one thing at all. On their other hand every little bit of advancement in equality for Canadian queers has been accomplished by lefties. The decriminalization of same-sex sex, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the addition of sexual orientation to our human rights laws, OHIP coverage for sex change alterations, or at least the genital operation, but even so it was right wingers who took that funding away and lefties who brought it back. Equal marriage, support for queer students in all of our publicly funded schools, AIDS/HIV prevention and treatment programs, universal health care that makes treatment of AIDS/HIV equally available to all Canadians regardless of their income. All of these things and much more were dome by/for queer Canadian lefties for the benefit of all. Enjoy going to bath houses? Thank a leftie for that. Enjoy going to Pride celebrations, thank a leftie for that as well. Enjoy not being fired from your job or evicted from your home just because you're queer? Again thank a leftie for that too since if it were up to the right wing in Canada we'd have none of those things and undoubtedly same-sex sex would still be illegal here as it was until very recently in several US states held by right wingers over the long term. Queer right wingers are a deluded bunch, condemning lefties while enjoying the equality and all the other benefits given to them by lefties. Queer cons work to incite hatred and to make life as hard as possible for other minority Canadian citizens. Queer cons care for no one at all but themselves, lefties understand that very well.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
12/09/11 3:21 AM EST
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Religious Accommodation is Bad for Gays
Irshad Manji threatened and assaulted in Holland by - you guessed it - other Muslims calling for Sharia in Europe. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bda_1323384382 See the video. Irshad knows the problems of intimidation Muslim prayer rooms in schools will cause.
woka, woka woka
12/09/11 7:20 AM EST
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