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Politics : The Truth About Islam -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (4569)	2/13/2007 10:26:52 AM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20106

Muslim's poem inflames immigration debate Verse accuses Quebec women of drinking, being promiscuous canada.com Jeff Heinrich, The Montreal Gazette Published: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 MONTREAL - A poem in which a Muslim woman praises the wearing of the hijab and suggests those who fear her are godless people who've led lives of debauchery, has sparked angry reaction in Quebec. The poem, written in French by a young male Lebanese Montrealer for an Arab-language newspaper and posted on the Internet, is being called an outrage and the work of hypocritical fanatics. The 22-year-old poet wrote it in response to the town of Herouxville's controversial guidelines for immigrants. Herouxville's council made headlines last month after proclaiming a "code of life" that prospective immigrants should abide by -- for example, by not stoning women or forcing them to wear veils. The poet, Haydar Moussa, was part of a Muslim delegation that went to Herouxville on Sunday to plead for mutual respect and an end to ethnic stereotypes. Mr. Moussa defended his work as merely a made-up cry of pain by what could be any devout Muslim woman hurt by anti-Islamic prejudice in Quebec. "She's criticizing anyone who tries to bring her down, who tells her 'Your veil is bad for our society'," said Mr. Moussa, who came to Canada from Lebanon when he was eight years old and speaks for the Association of Young Lebanese Muslims. The poem, titled Letter to You, reads in part: My veil is not a kerchief, It's my skin, My modesty, my dignity, my respect. And if you, old-stock immigrant women, You have neither faith nor law, And you spent your youth drunk, And went from one male to the next, That's not the case for me." The poem was published Jan. 23 in the Montreal biweekly Sada Al Mashrek. The village is at the centre of a debate in Quebec society over how far to "reasonably accommodate" the demands of traditional religious minorities. "I'm not a woman, but I'm an immigrant, and it was hurtful" to hear Herouxville's declaration and see it supported by a section of Quebec public opinion, said Mr. Moussa. "I was hurt, and I wanted others to get a taste of what I got -- you understand?" Posted on several Quebec and French websites critical of Islamic fundamentalism, including the blog of well-known Quebec commentator Richard Martineau and a Jewish site called Judeoscope.ca, the poem has drawn a flood of criticism, much of it anti-Arab. "The friends of Hezbollah thank Quebecers by calling their daughters sluts," is the headline of one comment posted to the online forum of LibertyVox.com, a French site. But Mr. Moussa says the poem is about individual feelings, and is not a blanket statement about Quebecers and their values. © The Ottawa Citizen 2007