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Muslim group asks government to expand burka ban
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By Andy Radia | Canada Politics
A little more than a month ago, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney took a political risk.
On December 12 the Alberta MP, rumoured to have leadership aspirations, issued a ban that prohibits Muslim women from wearing the burka and niqab while taking the oath of citizenship.
By doing so, Kenney risked insulting the Muslim community and alienating his party's 'ethnic supporters' which he worked so hard to attract.
But alas, it seems Kenney's risk was a calculated one.
According to reports in the National Post and the Toronto Sun, a prominent grassroots Muslim organization paid tribute to Kenney, Sunday at an event at a Toronto Hotel.
The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) hosted the shindig and threw praise at the Minister.
"You have taken a very courageous step in banning the burka from citizenship ceremonies," Farzana Khan, former MCC president, told the minister.
She then asked the minister to go a step further and introduce legislation similar to Quebec's Bill - 94 which essentially bars Muslim women from receiving or delivering public services while wearing a niqab.
"Invoking religious freedoms to conceal one's identity and promote political ideology is disingenuous," she said.
After listening to the appeal, Kenney said the idea sounds good in principle but he'll need to take a closer look at it.
Kenney said that banning the burka at swearing-in ceremonies was based on a "simple principle" adding that polling shows eight out of 10 Canadians agreed with the decision.
"It is only a sign of respect for your fellow citizens," he said, "when you are pledging to them your commitment to live in a community with them, to show your face and who you are and that your pledge is heartfelt and authentic."
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