Anti-Muslim Rant On Montreal Bus Suggests Religious Tensions Flaring

Religious tension in Quebec seems to have boiled over in this video captured on a Montreal city bus.

The exclusive clip, obtained by Huffington Post Quebec, was taken Aug. 28. In it, a male passenger angrily tells a woman in a hijab to go back to her own country.

According to the person who took the video, the altercation lasted between five and 10 minutes.

"The conversation started when the lady entered the bus," the video author, who wished to remain anonymous, told HuffPost Quebec. "The man told her to remove her headscarf or return to her country."

The woman doesn't suffer the insult lightly, telling the man to shut up, adding, "You're a coward."

Quebec premier Pauline Marois was mentioned by name on a couple of occasions -- with the man shouting, "This is our home! With Marois, we're going to take off your hat."

The hat is a reference to the hijab -- among several religious symbols the Marois' Parti Quebecois is looking to ban from the civil service with its proposed 'charter of Quebec values'.

A poll published this week suggests that were an election held today, the PQ would be defeated by the federalist Quebec Liberal Party.

However, a provincial election is not expected until next spring.

Opinion polls suggest Quebecers care mostly about the economy, the cost of living and the environment. But the values charter, unveiled earlier this month, has brought the thorny issue of religious symbolism into the spotlight. The PQ is looking to prohibit all visible religious signs in the civil service, including hospitals, kindergarten and schools. The issue has polarized the Quebec population, dividing immigrants, anglophones and francophones alike.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca
Author: The Huffington Post Canada