Interfaith Coalition Wants Muslim Prayer Out of Toronto Schools

By Michael Kaminer July 19, 2011

Hindus, Christians, and Jews are finally banding together behind a common cause. Unfortunately for Muslims in Toronto, the cause is them.

An interfaith coalition — whose less peaceable elements include the Jewish Defense League and Canada’s right-wing Christian Heritage Party — is sounding the alarm over lunchtime Muslim prayer sessions at a Toronto public school, the Toronto Sun reports.

“Enough’s enough, we draw the line here,” G.J. Rancourt of Christian Heritage said at a Monday press conference at Toronto’s Zionist center. “Our holiest celebration is Christmas and we can no longer celebrate it in public schools…Why would (Muslims) impose your values on the rest of us when we’re accommodating?” Security guards were at the ready for Islamic protesters at the center but no one showed up, the Sun reported today.

Members of the Jewish Defense League and two other Christian ministries are joining the fight against “pseudo-seculars” and to end to the Friday lunchtime prayer sessions in the middle school’s cafeteria, according to the Sun.

The groups also said they plan to picket the Toronto District School Board’s headquarters next week over its decision to allow the prayers, CTV reported. The activists also “spoke critically about Islamic teachings at Monday’s news conference,” CTV said.

The school started offering the services because Muslim students were missing classes in order to attend prayers at a nearby mosque, CTV reported.

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