Fired prison guard fights Islamophobia

by Eddy Roué

A new case before the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal has once again demonstrated the prevalence of Islamophobia.

In 2007, Sondos Abdelatif, an observant Muslim, was fired from her job at Montreal’s Bordeaux Detention Center for refusing to remove her hijab. The official justification was that the hijab could put her at risk if a hostile prisoner were to use it against her as a strangulation device. However, the government’s handling of Abdelatif’s case has laid bare the real reason for her dismissal: racism.

In a decision publicized in March, Quebec’s Human Rights Commission concluded the Ministry of Public Security failed to accommodate Abdelatif’s religious beliefs. As a spokesperson for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) pointed out after the dismissal, there are a variety of headscarves with velcro fasteners which could mitigate security concerns and are already used by the Canadian Forces.

In May, the ministry responded to the decision by rejecting the bulk of the commission’s recommendations, including those calling for monetary compensation for Abdelatif and a review of its uniform policy.

CAIR-CAN announced intentions to bring the case before Quebec’s Human Rights Tribunal in order to take the ministry to task for its blatant Islamophobia.