Affairs Columnist: Muslim Community and Muslim Faith

affairs columnist: Over that period, Quebecers have been subjected to a barrage of fear-mongering rhetoric purporting that the secular nature of their public institutions is under attack from an army of religious zealots mostly but not exclusively of the Muslim faith, according to Toronto Star. For much of the time, the sound of dog-whistle politics has dominated the conversation with depictions of the Muslim community often amounting to little more than caricature. MATHIEU BELANGER / AFP/GETTY IMAGES By Chantal H bert National Affairs Columnist Sat., Feb. 4, 2017 MONTREAL For more than a decade, Quebec has been the scene of a divisive and, so far, sterile debate as to what constitutes the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities by a secular state. Over his leadership campaign last year, Jean-Fran ois Lis e of the Parti Qu b cois hammered the notion that public safety required governments to consider banning the burka to prevent terrorists from wearing the full-body covering to hide lethal weapons. Its platform pointedly calls for vetting the values of immigrants to ensure they are aligned with the province's mainstream. Last summer, Quebec's third party, the Coalition Avenir Qu bec, flirted with the notion of a ban on body-covering bathing suits such as the burkini. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.