Iranian human rights activist Shabnam Assadollahi condemns Ottawa Hijab Day
Male women's rights activist protesting Ottawa Hijab Day Photo Credit: Facebook
Assadollahi stressed that she is not anti-Muslim: “I am a well-educated patriotic Canadian who is a strong proponent of diversity and freedom of religion. But I do have serious concerns about extremist Islamist ideology that runs counter to the Canadian values that I hold dear. I have known and liked many Muslims, who share my Canadian values. They or their parents immigrated here in order to escape Sharia Law and to embrace Canadian values. Unfortunately, not all Muslims who immigrate here do so for those reasons.”
According to Assadollahi, Islam, unlike Christianity, has a political component: “As a politician, you are likely to have listened to presentations by political groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood such as the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the Muslim Students Association and many more, whose goal is to present Islamist ideology in a favorable light for example by saying that the hijab is just a sign of modesty that is worn voluntarily by Muslim women. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. In fact, the hijab is a symbol of adherence to an extremist Islamist ideology and in Muslim countries, women who wear it do not do so freely.”
Assadollahi emphasized that both the hijab and the niqab are not part of traditional Muslim dress, emphasizing that in the past women in countries ranging from Syria to Iraq to Iran to the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan and Afghanistan used to wear far more liberal traditional clothing before the rise of radical Islam in the region: “They are relatively recent adaptations which are the result of Saudi Arabia having exported its extremist Wahhabist branch of Islam around the world. Along with the clothing comes the extremist ideas.” She noted that the Salafists in Canada argue for wearing the hijab not because it is a sign of modesty but because it isn’t compatible with integrating into Canadian society.
In order to prove that the hijab is not voluntary, Assadollahi mentioned the case of Aqsa Parvez, a Toronto-based teenage girl who was strangled by her father and brother for not wearing a hijab: “You will also remember no doubt the horrific case of the Montreal Shafia family honor killings of 3 daughters and a second wife by the father/husband and the brother because they did not adhere to his extremist ideology but instead adopted Canadian families. These Muslim women were Canadian citizens and their killings were not only criminal; they were motivated by beliefs that are contrary to the values of the equality of women and human rights.”
Assadollahi called upon Ottawa’s Mayor to permit the CAWI to host their Hijab Day as a privately sponsored event but stressed that they should not be allowed to call it Ottawa Hijab Day as “this gives the incorrect impression that it has been officially proclaimed by the City of Ottawa. In the future, events which encourage non-Muslim women to try on or wear the hijab may not be held at the City Hall.” She told Mayor Watson that he can explain it as follows: “Wear the Hijab events are a sensitive issue and do not necessarily achieve the aim of increasing inter-cultural understanding. Some women feel wearing the hijab is their choice while others see it as a religious obligation; still others see it as cultural but not religious. Some feel strongly about the many Muslim women including Canadian women who have been killed for not wearing the hijab and thus believe that to celebrate the wearing of the hijab would do them a disservice. Others view ‘Wearing the Hijab Days’ as a form of proselytizing.”
In conclusion, Assadollahi wrote: “I hope you will think very carefully about the message that Ottawa Hijab Day sends to Canadians and the international community, particularly to those women who do not have a choice, who may be trying to escape a life of oppression circumscribed by religious extremism, where their human rights are violated and possibly even their lives are at risk. Ottawa should be known as a city that promotes freedom of religion and equality of men and women. Allowing a private group to advertise Ottawa Hijab Day and to hold an associated event at City Hall may do damage to the city’s reputation by appearing in favor of one religion over others by being seen to promote the wearing of a controversial item of clothing such as the hijab, which is associated in many countries with an extremist ideology that devalues women and curtails their human rights. Such events are better held at a mosque without the assistance of public money, either directly or indirectly.”
In a separate Facebook post, Shabnam Assadollahi called upon all men who support women’s rights in the Muslim world “to show their solidarity with women and girls who are oppressed, flogged, beheaded, stoned to death, burned alive, beaten by their husbands, brothers and parents to name a few due to the forceful wearing of the hijab” to put on hijabs themselves. She stressed: “In my opinion, this event disrespects Muslim women who chose to wear the hijab and at the same time, it’s against our values on the status of women, which should not be supported by Canada and especially the City of Ottawa.”
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