Soon, the State Secularism Act will again be debated in court. At the twilight of my life and on the occasion of my 88th birthday, allow me to publicly support this amply justified law aimed at better living together. Law 21 is accused of being against religions. Yet it is an instrument of peace, because secularism unites while religions divide. History proves it. Those who are against Law 21 put religions before secularism out of ignorance.
It’s not just native Quebecers who want Bill 21. Many Muslims want it too. Ferid Racim Chikhi, an Algerian-Canadian who immigrated to Quebec, knows Islamism well. As a Muslim, he wants to see and experience secularism in Quebec. In his recent book Window on Islam, its Muslims, its Islamists, Mr. Chikhi is sounding the alarm and setting the record straight with regard to the blindness of our governments with regard to a willful and underhanded infiltration of Islamists, with a definite plan in mind to impose one day on the reception society nothing less than sharia! In 2005, Fatima Houda-Pepin, of Muslim origin and then liberal deputy for La Pinière, intervened in the Chamber of Deputies to have the request for Sharia law refused.
The need for secularism and Bill 21 is obvious. To refuse Law 21 is to oppose the progress of society, it is to go back to past centuries, where the power of decisions was in the hands of religious leaders such as imams, rabbis and bishops rather than under the responsibility of governments elected by the people. If that is what Canada wants, not Quebec, which, after a long struggle, succeeded in separating Church and State. There is no going back!
One of the problems is also the preamble of the Canadian Constitution, which refers to the supremacy of God. It’s a shame ! A text of such importance for the nation must be inclusive and respect the fact that in Canada and in all the provinces, there are not only believers, but also agnostics and atheists.
What is also unknown is that, although there are women who claim the right to wear the veil during working hours, there are also Muslim women who hope to finally be able to remove it thanks to the application of law 21. This is what several of them would have confided secretly to a school authority. And this, they cannot say openly under penalty of reprisals.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who is running as a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, has organized a fundraiser to fund the challenge of Quebec’s law on secularism. He maintains that one day, in Canada, a Prime Minister will be forced to present an official apology for the adoption and application in Quebec of Bill 21. However, if one day, ignorance gives way to knowledge, it it could very well be that it is he who must apologize to the people of Quebec for having tried to prevent them from applying it!
Opponents of secularism say they do not want to shatter the dream of a veiled woman, but they are ready to shatter the hopes of millions of Quebec citizens, including mine.
Why favor a theocratic society, which is contrary to the truth of science, rather than consent to the societal gain brought by Bill 21? Secularism includes a common neutrality agreed to by Quebeckers, which slowly but surely builds peace in Canada, from which all can benefit.