The values of Islam are taught on weekends in a Montreal public school, in contravention of Minister Bernard Drainville’s directive prohibiting prayers and religious practices in schools.
Every Saturday, dozens of children take lessons in “Arabic language and Islamic values” in the premises of La Voie secondary school in the Côte-des-Neiges district. This education has been offered, since 2009, by The Arab Schools of Montreal, an initiative of the Moroccan Muslim Association of Canada.
“Learning, in accordance with the goal sought by the administration and the students’ parents, emphasizes the transmission of Islamic values and the communicative dimension of the Arabic language. This is why the student learns to read and write, in order to be able to read religious texts, the Koran, collections of hadiths,” specifies the institution, which describes itself as an Islamic school, on its website. Parents must pay $500 per year to enroll their child.
Contacted by our Parliamentary Office, the spokesperson for the organization affirms that everything is in compliance.
“We give Arabic lessons and Islamic education lessons,” he maintained, upset by our questions. The fact that this education with a religious flavor is taught in rented premises in a public school changes nothing.
“We live in a democratic country and we all have the same rights,” he said. We operate as we should.”
Preserve the secular character
Teaching the values of Islam in the premises of a public school nevertheless contravenes the directive aimed at banning prayer premises or premises used for religious practice, according to Bernard Drainville’s office. This instruction was adopted in April 2023, after secondary schools in Laval allowed students to pray in classrooms.
The minister’s spokesperson points out that reminders were also made to the school network recently to comply with government directives.
The instruction applies to all places in schools, vocational training centers and adult education centers, without distinction of the time of their use.
The CSSDM carries out checks
The La Voie school, which is one of 17 establishments targeted for breaches of the secularism law reported since the revelations concerning the Bedford school, directed us to the Montreal School Service Center (CSSDM).
Asked to explain, the CSSDM argued that its premises were used by various organizations and did not want to specify whether religious activities took place in other schools.
“We are currently carrying out checks on the content of all rental activities outside the school setting [afin] to ensure that our establishments remain secular places, at all times,” underlined spokesperson Alain Perron.
He adds that at the end of its review, the CSSDM “will act accordingly” with groups that contravene the directive by engaging in religious activities in a school.
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