Guelph, Ont. Muslim leader Zakir Akram unfazed by anti-niqab poll protest

Local Muslim leader Zakir Akram is not bothered by the anti-niqab protest that was apparently staged Monday afternoon at a Guelph polling station, which he says amounts to little more than "a case of mischief."

Three or four people wearing masks showed up at a polling station in Ecole Arbour Vista Public School on Monday, said Anna Bonner, the school's office coordinator.

According to local media, they carried protest signs expressing anti-niqab sentiment, and at least one member of the group voiced opposition to the wearing of a face-covering garment like the niqab during citizenship ceremonies.

The protesters themselves remained anonymous, but apparently were allowed to vote. While he could not confirm the events in Guelph, Elections Canada spokesman Serge Fleyfel stated that any citizen attempting to vote while wearing a face covering would have been expected to provide ID and swear an oath in order to be issued a ballot.

'Very small issue'

The protest came on the heels of a nationwide debate over the niqab, which became a central issue in the federal election campaign. The controversy was sparked when the Conservative government challenged a Federal Court of Appeal decision that granted a Muslim woman with the right to wear a niqab while taking the citizenship oath.

But according to Akram, neither the national events nor Monday's protest have had a significant impact on the Muslim community in Guelph, who have long felt supported by the local community.

"Whoever these people were who made this protest, they somehow seem to have felt their rights were being encroached upon," says Akram. "I can't read what went on in their mind, but this is a very small issue and we don't feel it's worth making an issue of."

Not the first

The protest at Ecole Arbour Vista Public School is not the first conflict that has arisen between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities of Guelph. In March 2013, vandals painted hateful messages on the side of a local mosque building. In response to that event, the Muslim Society of Guelph launched a community outreach initiative, hosting an open house to raise awareness about the Muslim religion.

Akram believes that kind of ongoing outreach is essential in promoting cross-cultural understanding in Guelph and across the country. And he is optimistic that the newly-elected Liberal majority government will reflect a positive, inclusive Canada.

"Canada has always been a place where this was never an issue; and that is, I think, what played out in the message Canada has sent out to the world, that these things have no place in Canada," says Akram.