Siddiqui: Secular lingo rationalizes old-fashioned bigotry

Sometimes prejudice comes wrapped in the tinsel of principle. This is the case with Canadian Hindu Advocacy’s call to end Muslim Friday prayers at a Toronto public school. This marginal anti-Muslim and anti-Sikh group speaks mainstream lingo — secularism and gender equity — to rationalize its bigotry and bully tactics.

It is targeting Valley Park Middle School in Flemingdon Park for letting some students use the cafeteria for their weekly post-noon prayers. The school does this not just for the purpose of religious accommodation but also to maximize education time.

Eighty per cent of the school’s 1,200 students are Muslims. About 400 were taking two hours on Fridays to walk two kilometres to the nearest mosque. Many were not coming back. Giving them space in school for 30 minutes ensured that they were back in class, says Principal Nick Stefanoff.

However, the Hindu group does not want to be confused with facts:

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1044502--siddiqui-secular-lingo-rationalizes-old-fashioned-bigotry