Muslim parents worry that the program goes against their traditions.
The Toronto Star says that people of different faiths are getting together to protest the gender ideology teaching they think is wrong in Canadian schools.
The problem, which has become important in school board meetings and other places in the U.S., is also important in Canada, where, according to the outlet, parents wearing hijabs and “keffiyehs,” or scarves that show sympathy with Palestinians, stood next to parents wearing Bible quotes on their shirts.
All because these unusual friends are working toward the same goal.
“When I came here 22 years ago, Christians were the majority, and I was a Muslim,” Aziz Wadya, an Egyptian refugee and one of the Muslims questioning the LGBTQ+ ideological growth, said in the story.
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“They didn’t make my kid go to church against his will. Even though they were in the majority, they respected who I was. Now, less than 1% of the people try to make everyone else do what they want,” he said.
The protest that caught the attention of the media happened in downtown Calgary, a city in the Canadian province of Alberta. Those who were against the gender ideology program weren’t the only ones there. Counterprotesters, who were ready to shout back, told the angry parents to “leave queer kids alone.”
But Joe Schellenberg, a Christian, said that his group’s show of unity with Muslims was “very sweet,” as reported by The Star.
“I’m so glad we can all agree on this… “Earlier, a Muslim woman came up to me and put her hand on me as a Christian. She just blessed me, and I thought that was a very sweet moment,” he said.
Some of the parents who are protesting are worried, like some people in the U.S., that schools are putting too much attention on the issue by teaching about sexual material and holding events like drag queen story hour that have LGBTQ+ themes.
In this situation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently attacked the American right wing, saying, “It goes both ways.” This came after Muslim students skipped school to go to pride events and a teacher was said to have scolded them for doing so. If you want to be accepted for who you are and don’t want to be treated badly because of your religion, skin color, or anything else, you should treat people who are different from you the same way. So, this is how it works.”
When Trudeau was talking to Muslims in Calgary at a mosque, he was asked to help protect their culture and “belief, the sin that you are doing to them.”
Trudeau said, “First of all, there is a lot of false information and misinformation out there. People on social media, especially the American right-wing, are spreading a lot of lies about what is actually in the curriculum.”
Mourra, a father of five who was named as the leader of the Calgary protest, took his dissatisfaction with school teaching one step further by taking his kids out of public schools and homeschooling them instead.
He, like Schellenberg, said he was happy to learn that groups that used to be at odds with each other could now work together for a shared goal.
“I was so shocked when I saw the people who used to yell at us and make fun of our religion, mopping the floor with us, come to our protest and say “Allahu akbar,” he told The Toronto Star.
Muslim parents in the U.S. have also spoken out. One of them, activist Sameera Munshi, joined other parents in criticizing the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland for taking away the option to opt out of teaching about LGBTQ+ sexuality.
She said that the board was making fun of Muslim beliefs and that they would only help the Muslim community and protect their rights if they followed popular ideologies.
