Edmonton: Community Slams Teacher’s Anti-Muslim Remarks as ‘Alienating’
The nearly two-minute-long audio recording circulated on social media last week with several national organizations blasting the teacher’s behaviour.
In the recording, the teacher began her lecture by saying that there was no complaint from peers when the Muslim holiday Ramadan was acknowledged during school. “It goes two ways. If you want to be respected for who you are, if you don’t want to suffer prejudice for your religion, your colour of skin or whatever, then you better give it back to people who are different from you. That’s how it works,” said the teacher.
The teacher continued her onslaught by saying that if the student didn’t believe in LBGTQ+ rights then “you can’t be Canadian. You don’t belong here.”
Jamal Osman, the vice-president of the Muslim Community of Edmonton Mosque, says he was made aware of the recording last week. He condemned the language used by the teacher, calling it divisive.
“She seems to have the opinion that it is somehow un-Canadian to have a difference of opinion. I think this is exactly the opposite of what diversity and inclusiveness mean,” said Osman.
“Diversity and inclusion does not mean you will think one way. That’s counterintuitive.”
In Canada, multiculturalism is defined as the presence of people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Osman continues to say that within the education system there are people with varying beliefs, especially students from diverse backgrounds who are not entirely familiar with certain topics. He stressed the importance of teachers who are educating in a manner that includes accepting diversity and diverse perspectives.
“One does not go about saying, ‘You will think this or else you’re not part of us,’ that’s not how people operate,” said Osman.
Osman says his concern and that of his community is if the incident is secular or if this is a reflection of teachers in the school system. He hopes the school board will address the incident appropriately and although he said the situation was disheartening, he mentioned that MCE has had positive collaboration with the school board in the past.
School board aware of recording
Edmonton Public Schools issued a statement saying they were aware of the recording but could not provide any further updates saying the school and division are taking steps to address the situation.
On June 3, Ed Charpentier, the principal of Londonderry School, sent out a letter to parents saying that the views expressed by the teacher are not representative of the school’s values.
“We know that words matter and they have the ability to bring us together and also to divide us. I want to assure you we are addressing the situation accordingly,” said Charpentier in the letter.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims tweeted about the incident on Tuesday saying that they were “deeply concerned” and that the teacher was engaging in “deeply Islamophobic, inappropriate and harassing behaviour.”
In a statement to Postmedia, the organization said it is reaching out to the school and considering potential further legal action and would not be able to comment further at this time.
Edmonton Public Schools said it is aware of the audio recording and the school and division are taking steps to address the situation.
In a statement, it said that it is unable to provide any further information on the state of the situation due to the division’s legislated privacy obligations.
Source: edmontonjournal.com
