"Wearing Hijab is a religious right that should be respected and protected," said Martin

OTTAWA, August 14 (IslamOnline.net) – Canadian Muslims voiced their satisfaction after receiving a letter from Prime Minister, Paul Martin, reiterating his respect of Muslim women's right to wear Hijab, even in photographs taken for Permanent Residence (PR) cards.

The Prime Minister’s letter to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) emphasized that wearing Hijab, Islamic headscarf, is a religious right that should be respected and protected, CAIR- CAN said in a press release issued Friday, August 13.

"Please be assured that your concerns regarding Permanent Resident (PR) Card photographs have been given careful and appropriate considerations...CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) policy is that allowances be made for practitioners of religious faiths that prohibit the removal of head coverings," the Prime Minster wrote in his July 23, letter.

"CIC does not require the head covering to be completely removed, but for security purposes, all facial features must be visible for the photographs," he added.

Martin’s letter came after a formal complaint filed with CAIR-CAN by numerous Muslim women who were told to remove their hijab for their PR Card photograph by Canadian immigration officials at the Pierre Trudeau port of entry.

"These cases raise the worrying concern of a systemic policy of discrimination against women immigrants who wear the hijab at the Dorval port of entry," CAIR CAN said in its complaint filed June 24.

Parties’ Support

The complaint, filed earlier by CAIR CAN, called on all party leaders to clarify their party’s position regarding accommodating the right of Muslim women to wear hijab, or Islamic headscarf.

Leader of the New Democratic Party, NDP, Jack Layton responded by stating their support for the issue as a protection of freedom of religion.

"New Democrats strongly support the protection of the fundamental rights to freedom of religion and expression in Canada , and we view the behavior of the immigration officers in these cases as infringing on those rights," Layton has said.

"It is particularly unfortunate that these were among the first Canadians the new immigrants met on arrival, as it reflects poorly on our nation," he added.

Also the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Stephen Harper, welcomed the Prime Minister’s statement.

"We welcome the statement by the Prime Minister’s office clarifying this important issue that has affected many recent immigrants to Canada ," stated CAIR-CAN spokesperson Abdurahman Salman.

"We hope that the CIC officials in question, who clearly acted outside of Canada ’s guidelines regarding religious accommodation, will now conduct themselves in accordance with the stated principles articulated by the Prime Minister," he added.

There are approximately 600,000 Canadian Muslims and 1.2 billion worldwide.

Hijab has taken central stage recently in several European countries, which banned it in state-run schools and public institutions.

France has triggered the controversy by adopting a bill banning hijab and religious insignia in public schools.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the French move is "discriminatory".

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations – unlike the symbolic Christian crucifixes or Jewish Kappas.