the fix is NOT TO HIRE MUSLIMS
Saw this move in the Star......This is how to do it......
Muslim groups decry Quebec's hijab 'ultimatum'
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Mar 15, 2007 05:46 PM
Canadian Press
MONTREAL — The Quebec government is turning a blind eye to sensible alternatives by forcing a Muslim woman to choose between her hijab or prison guard training, say Muslim groups.
Sondos Abdelatif, 19, was told that she would have to remove her hijab in order to continue with the training program at Montreal’s Bordeaux jail.
She chose to withdraw from the program instead. Abdelatif couldn’t be reached for comment on Thursday.
Quebec’s Public Security Department said the Muslim headwear could pose a threat to Abdelatif’s safety should prisoners get hostile.
“As a security measure, the hijab cannot be accepted as an element of the uniform to execute the functions of a correctional officer,” department spokesman Real Roussy said Thursday.
However, the head of the Muslim Council of Montreal argues the issue signals a lack of openness on the government’s behalf.
“It is an ultimatum, remove the hijab or you’re out of here,” said Salam Elmenyawi. “That’s not a security issue, this is much more a bigoted issue.”
Elmenyawi, an imam who also provides chaplaincy services at Bordeaux, said the Quebec government’s intransigence belies a misunderstanding about Islam.
“The piece of the scarf is not sacred,” he said. “The idea is to cover the hair.
“If the hair and neck are covered by any other means that could be easily removed, then it would not cause any kind of security issue.”
Elmenyawi pointed out there are other options including a turtleneck combined with an unfastened haircovering.
Members of other Muslim groups have pointed out that Velcro-fastened hijabs could offer an easy solution.
Roussy said such alternatives won’t change the government’s position.
“The department made its decision yesterday, it’s the same today,” he said. “It’s a security measure.”
Roussy stressed that it was Abdelatif’s decision to pull out of the training program.
“We informed the person when she arrived at training with her hijab that it could cause her problems.”
The controversy has added fuel to a simmering debate in the province about reasonable accommodations for minorities.
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