The Quebec Model – The Intolerant Future?

Poster reads 'Islam out of my country.'.

In 2015, the Liberal government in the province of Quebec introduced Bill 62, a piece of legislation that was supposed to ‘end’ the religious accommodation debate in Quebec by banning public employees from wearing a niqab. The bill, supported by Liberal Premier Couillard, has recently been amended by the Liberals to include a ban on the giving or receiving of provincial and municipal services to anyone wearing a niqab. This has raised the very real possibility of some of our Muslim sisters not being able to access public transit in the cities of Quebec, under the false pretense of religious neutrality. This has happened around the same time that the very same Premier of Quebec stated: 'Unfortunately, you cannot disconnect this type of event — terrorism — from Islam in general.'

It is important to note that Justin Trudeau and the federal liberal party, which sees securing Quebec as strategically necessary for its political future, has said nothing to condemn the policy or rhetoric of Quebec Liberal leadership.

A backdrop of hatred                                                                

It should be apparent that a provincial government that actively promotes the Cross and its Catholic heritage is not actually interested in religious neutrality, a policy objective that has no articulated benefit. Also, forcing women to uncover portions of their body, in opposition to their moral convictions, does not advance any individual or collective well-being.

What is important to question is why the Liberal government of Quebec is willing to engage in such open bigotry, and why Trudeau’s brand of inclusivity does not extend to the borders of Quebec?

The fact is that the public opinion in Quebec is heavily biased against immigration and has many xenophobic elements. Some in Quebec have been poised to see the Muslim community as a threat to Francophone culture and identity, even though the Muslims are well-established in the province.  Quebec has seen the fastest rise of far right anti-immigration groups and militias like La Meute and PEGIDA, some of these groups going as far as conducting patrols in heavily Muslim-populated neighborhoods in the province’s urban centers. And let us not forget that this is the same Quebec where eight of our brothers were recently martyred in a Quebec city mosque while performing their Isha prayer by a white nationalist who was indoctrinated by the right wing identity politics.

This is the environment in which men like Couillard operate. In his ambition for electoral victory, this is the public opinion that he is willing to cater to in order to achieve his goals, even if it means positioning Islam as a danger in an atmosphere that is already so charged against Muslims. And the Federal Liberals, understanding the strategic importance of Quebec to their own quest for power, are willing to turn a blind eye to the mistreatments of Muslims living in Quebec.

The reality of the capitalist politics

Couillard is not an anomaly in the liberal democratic system, rather politics within the Capitalist systems have become nothing more than an exercise in theatre. Real power lies in the flow of massive amounts of money (the capital in capitalism), that is restricted in the hands of the very few. This means elected leadership, regardless of its popularity, is effectively powerless in creating any real change in the lives of people. Instead, those who prosper politically are those who are most willing to manipulate the common emotions of society.

This is the climate within which secular politicians operate, their ‘need to please’ makes all their principles flimsy and flexible. This is precisely why the Liberal party in Quebec, even though it touts tolerance and moderation, can author and endorse such divisive rhetoric and policy, and can do so without facing repercussions from its federal leadership.

Canary in the coalmine?

It is easy to write off the situation in Quebec as a Francophone issue. However, it is imperative to understand that the political class’ sacrifice of the Muslim community will not necessarily be restricted to Quebec. Quebec is merely an example of what happens when public opinion does not favor Islam. The Muslims in Quebec are an old established community that has no reputation for criminality, or political violence. The main crime they have committed is being of the same Ummah as their brothers and sisters in the Muslim world who pose an obstacle to the Capitalist colonial agenda. This is enough of a crime for them to be subject to a campaign of demonization, criminalization, harassment and murder.

The Muslim community, even in Anglophone Canada, must be clear that we can expect no protection from the political class if the tide of public opinion, through no fault of our own, turns against us. We must warn the leaders in our community that ingratiating ourselves to a mostly unprincipled political elite will not build a stable foundation for our community. A simple change in mood will have the hollow politicians turn against us in the blink of an eye.

Coming together as a community

In this environment of hatred, it is essential for Muslims to unify our ranks as a community. After all, other segments of society are attempting to organize around a national bond, while nationalism today is nothing more than a modern-day revival of an ancient-old disease: tribalism. And while the proponents of nationalism can always couch their concerns under the guise of attempting to defend and protect their values, the desire to protect your tribal identity has nothing to do with a value system.

As Muslims, our deen informs us that values are not merely a product of a shared ethnic group or the result of living in one area together; values can be adopted by anyone who chooses to embrace them, and belonging to a particular tribe provides no protection against betraying one’s values. Being of a particular ethnicity will not save one from hypocrisy, bigotry, or a lack of compassion.

Tribalism, on the other hand, is an unenlightened way for humans to bond with each other - as the Arabs of Jahiliyah (pre-Islamic times) did by tapping into the survival instinct that is within us all, leading to violent tribal rivalries. As Muslims, knowing that we have something revealed from the Lord of Creation (swt), does it not fall upon us to enjoin the good by being an example of a community that can combine people of all backgrounds around the ideology of Divine Mercy, as opposed to human bigotry.  Were we not advised:

“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” [TMQ 49:13]

Allah (swt) is our protector

As Muslims increasingly find themselves the topic of a toxic discussion that we did not start and do not control, it is essential that we fortify ourselves in a sure protection. Protection does not come from politicians whose ambitions are stronger than their principles, nor does it come from a Muslim leadership that is more interested in pleasing a dominant society at the expense of our values, rather we must seek protection in our Most Just and Merciful Creator.

It is Allah (swt) that has measured the span of our lives, the quantity of our rizq, and the well-being of our future generations. Any political calculation or compromised position that is dependent upon weakening our relationship with Him (swt) by disregarding any portion of His revealed Command will not serve as a protection, but as a source of misery and degradation in this life and the next.

“The example of those who take allies other than Allah is like that of the spider who takes a home. And indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider, if they only knew. Indeed, Allah knows whatever thing they call upon other than Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” [TMQ 29:41-42]