Eyeopener, Indeed.

Somehow within the past week, I became aware of a news release issued by Canadian Federation Of Students (CFS) addressing issues of "Islamophobia" in Canadian universities. There appeared to be a lot commentary on it, so I popped in to have a look for myself. I read the whole thing (PDF link below) and was dumbstruck. So dumbstruck in fact, that I forgot to note how I got there. My apologies for inadequate "hat tipping." Ultimately, I'll probably post more on the assertions, evidence and rhetoric contained therein, but I must comment on one item in the report.

In the portion of the report addressing instances of Islamophobia in campus media, we are told that:

Students at Ryerson University [Toronto] referenced a particularly disturbing article that ran in the Eyeopener, a student newspaper on that campus, entitled “Muslims Playing for Power.” The article focused on the election of the first Muslim (also the first student of colour) president of the central students’ union on campus. The article conflated this small step toward equality with a ‘take over’ by Muslims on that campus. (My Emphasis)

Later, in the section of the task force report pertaining to lack of prayer space for Muslims, we hear that:

“Why aren’t we given a room we can call our own? During Ramadan we shifted rooms every other day. That makes it difficult for people to come out and congregate in prayer” said a Ryerson student. Participants recounted conflicts arising between religious student groups who are forced to reconcile their respective needs within an already over crowded multi-faith centre. There were reports of resentment toward Muslim students—whose demands on such a centre can be significant—by other users of these centres.(Emphasis Mine)

The two items were many pages apart within the report. At the very end of the appendix to the report, we see the offending newspaper article referred to above.

Let us please consider the first paragraph quoted above. I do not think that I exaggerate, when I say that the wording and tone imply that article a)concentrates on the election; b)provides an unfavorable and biased view of the winner. I mean, after all, it is cited as evidence of "Islamophobia."

The second quoted paragraph implies that at Ryerson University, at best the Muslims don't have sufficient space and there is sectarian disrespect for Islamic practices, no? Indeed, this statement provides evidence for the conclusion that Canadian universities are not doing enough to meet the needs of their Islamic communities, which, by definition constitutes insidious discrimination.

Really?

Let's go back to that offending issue of The Eyeopener. I quote directly:

A variety of religious groups on campus have said they have felt uncomfortable trying to use the multifaith room.

Eric Da Silva, president of the Catholic Student Association, says the group looked into using the room for mass but was told by RSU front desk staff that the room was “permanently booked” by Muslim students.

“No one is trying to take away the space from the Muslims, we just don’t want to be stepping on their toes,” says Da Silva. He stresses that the group found another space to hold mass and the conflict was quickly resolved. Da Silva acknowledges that Muslims have a stricter prayer schedule than Catholics, but he challenges whether the room should be called a multifaith one.

"The space, which is divided to separate males from females, has rows taped on the floor for prayer and Islamic decorations adorning the walls, is only accommodating to Muslims. I don’t think the university should be calling it a multifaith room. If we went in there and decorated the room with rosary and crosses, other students would feel uncomfortable praying there,” he says.

The Ismaili Student’s Association, a smaller Muslim student group that practices the Shiite Muslim religion, has experienced conflicting schedules with the MSA [Muslim Student Association] for prayer space during the month of Ramadan. On a regular basis, the smaller group uses the multi-faith room for prayer between 6 and 7 p.m. During Ramadan, when Muslims break their fast at sunset, the Ismaili students, who practice a separate form of prayer were resigned to finding somewhere else to pray.

“We were pretty much in a different room every night for a month,” says a member of the group who wished not to be named. “It can be frustrating at times, but you kind of have to make the best of the situation,” she says of having to move so the MSA can use the room.(Emphasis Mine)

Regarding the Islamophobic nature of the news article, you may make your own judgment. I read the darn thing four times and thought it was a factual account of a controversy on campus. People can disagree about those things, I suppose, but the article to me didn't seem beyond the headline to be about a Muslim power grab.

But what offends me is the blatant, in-your-face, dishonesty of the CFS as evidenced in their task force report. It's clear from the newspaper article that the Sunni Muslims on campus are being accomodated quite nicely, thank you. According to everyone, they've appropriated the "Interfaith Chapel" and converted it to a mosque. Those who are having difficulty accessing campus facilities are the other religious groups, including Shiite Muslims. In point of fact, those who are excluded from use seem to be taking it pretty well.

Yet the paraphrase in the report used to support a conclusion that universities are being insensitive to the prayer needs of Islamic students comes under circumstances where Muslims have a monopoly on the use of the space. That little fact is not made known in the body of the report, but I note, the Ryerson Professor who responds to the newspaper and who is also on the CFS task force which authored the report, never questions the newspaper's accuracy. It seems to me, if you're going to agitate against discrimination perpetrated against a certain favored religious group in the use of campus facilities, it might be important to let the reader know that said group already has the facilities "permanently booked" to the exclusion of all others.

Because, ya' know, maybe that means, there ain't no discrimination.

Unless, of course, it's being perpetrated by the favored group against its co-religionists.

Or against the Catholics.

But I guess that's not sexy enough. Truth is like that sometimes.

R. Sherman

The PDF file is here.