Québec bigots outraged after zoo lets Muslims pray in public

I’m generally proud (as much as that word applies) to call myself a Canadian and a Québécois, but less so when I’m reminded of the nasty strain of nativist xenophobia that’s all too common amongst my compatriots:

A wildlife park in Hemmingford is standing by its decision to rent an outdoor space to the Canadian Muslim Association last Sunday.

That after non-Muslim visitors started calling for a boycott of Parc Safari after it rented out the space for Muslim prayers.

On July 2, Parc Safari rented an outdoor area to the association and says they received multiple complaints following the gathering.

Members of the association held a prayer in the outdoor space, fueling the rage of other park visitors.

Following the event, a video was posted on Youtube, sparking calls to boycott the park.

“It’s not only inappropriate but a serious lack of respect towards Quebec and Quebeckers, ” the user who posted the Youtube video wrote.

“Go live your faith in your mosques, outside, no one is interested.”

Parc Safari claims that following the event it received “several heinous and racist comments.”

This is an all-too-common refrain around here: that any inkling of someone being religious in public view is somehow a terrible affront to everyone else. (Unless, of course, they’re Christian – they have outside privileges, because theirs is a normal religion, unlike Islam and other Brown-people faiths.) Yet, somehow, I find myself far more offended by the bigotry on display towards those Muslims minding their own business than anything else.

To be clear, neither Parc Safari nor the Canadian Muslim Association did anything wrong. Separation of church and state only dictates that the government may not promote one religion over another; there are absolutely no rules preventing government-funded establishments from leasing public spaces to whatever groups they wish, including religious organizations, so long as they don’t discriminate against one group (say, Muslims) in favor of another (say, Christians). Even if, evidently, that’s precisely what these complainers would like to see happen.

Another level of irony: Those who screech about “public prayers” whenever Muslims engage in it are the same people who get bent out of shape whenever there’s talk about removing crucifixes and other explicitly Christian symbols from public buildings. Why, it’s almost as if they had a double standard or something. Or maybe they don’t know what secularism actually means.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem that Parc Safari is about to cave to the bigots [my emphasis]:

The park posted a response on Facebook saying they often host corporate groups and this one wasn’t treated any different.

They added the group respected every instruction given.

“Parc Safari is sorry freedom of religion may have offended some. In no case this was the objective,” the park wrote.

People were also complaining that the group’s prayer was broadcast through the park’s speakers.

However the park denies that and says the group brought its own speakers and respected volume restrictions.

“Parc Safari is a place for all, no matter their nationality, religion, colour, culture or sexual orientation. The park will not accept any call to hatred or inappropriate vocabulary on our social media, on the phone nor our site. All heinous messages will be erased from our page.”

That’s the proper response to a petty, hateful mob.

(via @CBCAlerts)