Pregnant Muslim Woman Attacked by Montreal Teens
The piece of news that appeared on the CBS in early October, 2015, deeply shocked Montreal citizens, especially Montreal Muslim community. Close to the Galeries D’Anjou, in the city’s northern end, a Muslim woman was picking up her two children from school, when she was attacked by two young boys, riding bikes. They surrounded her and tried to rip off her hijab. They applied such power that in her attempt to tug on her head scarf, the woman fell. The police reported that the woman was pregnant, and the suspected attackers are of approximately 15 years of age. The incident happened so quickly that their identities were not detected at that time. The police launched the investigation, but they were reluctant to call the accident “the act of hate.” However, in any case, the attack on a pregnant woman is an unprecedented crime, and religious ground only adds more to the problem of minorities in the society (“Pregnant Muslim Woman Attacked by Montreal Teens, Police”).
The news demonstrated that there is an obvious problem in relationships between the Christian congregation and minority group of Muslims in Montreal. The news article gives only s short insight of the problem, but the situation is getting worse, as more and more attacks on Muslims are happening. The issue has already become a matter of public debate where people call for a prompt and decisive action from the government to end any religious discrimination in known as peaceful Montreal. Moreover, the problem also concerns the education and bringing up of children who are capable of such a hostile and violent behavior towards women. The community should work on the elimination of any signs of race, gender or religious intolerance.
The news reflected tough and complicated relationships between congregations of two different religious traditions that provided ground for acts of aggression. Such problems may be caused by the growing threat from radical Islamist organizations and large numbers of refugees. Canadian, European, American and other Christian countries’ population are afraid about their lives and this fear is blind. People who are afraid see danger from anyone who possesses even the smallest characteristic of the threat. Unfortunately, people are unable to distinguish a huge difference between a radical who just explained his or her aggression using religion and a true believer. Such tensions in the society possess a threat of the growing number of attacks from both sides that may lead to a deeper gap between two world religions.
Therefore, the short news gives readers understanding that the situation in society is not stable. Some events on the political and international arena provoke people to violence the infringe individual’s rights. The developed countries once had bet everything on promotion of tolerance and justice, while the current challenges put questions to such values. The current crises, both political and religious, can lead to a complete polarization of society that later may be reflected in much more serious challenge. The accident in Montreal represents only one side, while Christians sometimes also suffer humiliation on the religious basis. It should be noticed that in such cases the police prefer to refrain from loud accusations or declarations as the subject in question is very sensitive. Media plays a crucial role in such situations, and it mostly forms public opinion. Therefore, it has an enormous influence on the people, that requires caution and tact.
Works Cited
“Pregnant Muslim Woman Attacked by Montreal Teens, Police.” CBC News, 2 Oct, 2015. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-police-muslim-woman-1.3253668
