Groups Protesting Prayers at Toronto School

[sharaabee]

Re: Groups Protesting Prayers at Toronto School

@Muzna

I don’t understand how the slippery slope applies here…as long as your actions do not have a negative impact on others and as long as those subject to the consequences of your actions do not have an issue with it then there should be restriction.

If someone wants to wear a burka…let them…how does that impact me? Now if they insist that I have to wear one then I might be in a position to object.

Nobody is saying give religion free reign…they are simply asking for the right to practice their religion… a right that is assured to them in the constitution.

Nobody has stopped the Christian community from having prayer sessions…they simply haven’t had the need to since their Sabbath is on Sunday.

I’m not sure when the Hindu religion requires prayer in a congregation so I can’t comment but I’m sure that if a large enough contingent of the school’s population asked for this privilege then the school and the board would be happy to oblige. And the same applies to the Jewish community.

The school is NOT making special time arrangements for these students. The parents are required to provide authorization for their child to attend the congregation in much the same manner as they would provide a note if the child was coming late to class due to a doctor’s appointment. The children are required to make up for the missed lessons on their own. No part of the curriculum is being impacted or neglected at all.

As for the location…the principal’s decision to accommodate the prayer in the cafeteria is a smart one as otherwise the children, many of them quite young, would make a 10 minute trek to the nearby mosque. This unnecessary travel has the potential to pose several types of dangers. Furthermore…the trip to the mosque often resulted in students not returning to school for the balance of the day. I’m sure the impact of truancy was affecting the school as well. Kudos to the principal for finding a brilliant solution to more than one problem.

So wait a second…you agree that “secular western societies” provide values like “freedom of religion” yet you don’t want anyone immigrating to these societies if they are going to exercise that right? That sounds like hypocrisy to me.

Did come across as a confrontational to you? I sense that I did. That was not the intention.

Regarding christians and hindus.. I believe I read that the ontario system did infact take christian masses etc away from public schools a decade ago or something. Whether you personallly are okay with it or not is not the question.

On Burkhas.. yep personally I do have a problem with it.. within western values and cultures the burkha comes across as very unfriendly.. in addition to the security risks and the women abuse issues..

My comment regarding the hypocrisy of some muslims (and hindus and christians) still stands. They want to invoke western secular values and stretch them to the limits to practice their own culture from back home.. thier own ultra conservative religious practices..many of which are in direct conflict with regular western values.. that. is hypocrisy.

The provision of “freedom of religion” is an abused one. This freedom shouldn’t mean any ancient cultural norms from any religion should be accepted within western society. All that should mean to people is that you will not be prosecuted (or taxed extra) in this country just for being from another religion..and that you can have your places of worship etc.. it shouldnt mean that you can bring in any ancient ritual from your home country and expect western society to welcome it with open arms.

Again, I’m sorry if my tone comes across as confrontational. Not my intention. Written words are often interpreted with the worst tone.