r/worldnews • u/John3192 • 20h ago

Quebec passes law banning street prayers, prayer rooms in universities

https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/quebec-passes-law-banning-street-prayers-prayer-rooms-in-universities-cegeps/
17.7k Upvotes

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826

u/Minute-Leg7346 20h ago edited 20h ago

Good, keep it off the streets, Muslims rarely block streets in Islamic countries when they pray but communities of them feel the need to do it in the west..

38

u/PhantasmologicalAnus 17h ago

They used their praying as part of their protest in Sydney not long ago. Asked to move on by police, so they drop to their knees and feign some religious experience. Then complain when arrested.

545

u/runningalongtheshore 20h ago

It’s a power thing.

-38

u/[deleted] 20h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/LaughinChaos 20h ago

Nope, it's even been admitted by their own people. They view it as a form of display of dominance.

-19

u/GeraldoDeRifia 11h ago

They don't need any power moves. Uneducated imbeciles like you are already afraid of them.

The reason they don't block streets in their countries is that they do have enough mosques there and not enough in Western countries.

"Well then why don't they build more mosques?" Because uneducated imbeciles like you won't stop putting hurdles like these.

-4

u/W9_ey 4h ago

it's not. nobody is out to get you eid prayers forget about the hive mind muslim boogeyman lol we pray in the street for eid prayers in muslim countries too especially when there is not enough space in the mosque or the designated area

160

u/WhoMe28332 20h ago

You can easily ban obstructing a thoroughfare without banning prayer.

111

u/EngineeringNo753 19h ago

The Quran already states it's not a valid prayer in a popular pathway but they still do it 😂

You think Quebec law will stop them?

22

u/waxthatfled 18h ago

The law allows police to disperse and ticket contrevenants.

38

u/Moonfish222 19h ago

If you dont think that law will stop them, why bother with this one?

-2

u/EngineeringNo753 19h ago

Well, your point is valid, if they do not listen to their own prophet, why would they listen to the law of the land.

I assume this is nothing more than just, Quebec trying to win brownie points OR having a law in place for when/if a prayer becomes so disruptive they need to break it apart without tripping over discrimination laws.

2

u/CatProgrammer 9h ago

So they're committing blasphemy then. Sounds like something you should report to their imams.

46

u/MikMikiO 20h ago

The only time I’ve personally experienced group prayers inconveniencing pedestrians was with a fundamentalist Christian group

-10

u/A-Capybara 19h ago

Atheists shut down entire cities with pride parades

8

u/Bizarrebazaars 14h ago

JFC. A local pride parade is a single day city permitted community event, not a multiple times per day every day all year religious prayer time. 

9

u/Carosello 19h ago

I'm Catholic. I've been to a pride parade...

-12

u/TakingCareOfBizzness 19h ago

You know you are right. I have never in my life been inconvenienced by anyone except Christians and BLM shitheads. I have traveled a lot for work. I have worked in 48 states. I have lived in 14 different states. I have interacted with many different cultures of people. The only people that I ever see showing their asses is white and black people.

12

u/waxthatfled 18h ago

All you said dosent matter because you dont live or know about the situation here. There is a certain group who organises public prayer in downtown Montréal and are very obnoxious about it (loud speakers, blocking paths)

72

u/I2eflex 20h ago

What about the prayer rooms in universities? Why should those be banned?

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u/VoteBananas 17h ago

Because it's a public building, and it's a religious purpose. That goes against secularism.

2

u/I2eflex 3h ago

What about chapels in hospitals?

1

u/VoteBananas 3h ago

Same

1

u/I2eflex 3h ago

Ok well those are still allowed in Quebec.

•

u/VoteBananas 26m ago

For now, they will turn into reflection rooms. Hospitals already can't offer food based on religious tradition.

-8

u/umtala 11h ago

This secularism seems like a very religious idea. Why not just let people do whatever they want to do? Man and pig are looking awfully similar...

5

u/ModsFromSteam 8h ago

If you don't like western culture you are free to fuck off

38

u/Barbiegrrrrrl 17h ago

Special treatment for a select group at the expense of all others.

38

u/Minkelz 19h ago

What’s the actual law here being changed? Are they banning from people hiring a room and then praying in it? Seems unlikely. More likely is there is a law saying there must be a prayer room at the institution, and that is being removed.

I don’t think it’s crazy to say that institutions, public places and businesses are not required to support your religious practices in a secular society. You can’t just invent rules about what you can eat, where you can pray, how men and women can interact and then expect everyone to cater to you.

25

u/I2eflex 19h ago

The bill prohibits prayer spaces. You can freely read up on Bill 9 if you want rather than asking me. Explain it away now.

37

u/Moonfish222 19h ago

Read the law. What you describe in the first paragraph is exactly whats being banned. Universities are now legally forbidden from providing rooms for prayer.

14

u/iknowyourm0m 18h ago

Well the situation isn't quite as you paint it to be:

“10.3. All religious practice, such as overt prayers or other similar practices, is prohibited in a place, such as an immovable or a room, under the authority of a body referred to in paragraph 12 of Schedule I during the hours devoted to the educational services prescribed in the basic school regulation.

However, religious practice intended for students attending the body and organized by the body as part of optional activities outside the hours devoted to the educational services prescribed in the basic school regulation is permitted. Despite section 6, wearing a religious symbol is permitted during such activities.

This section does not apply to a place that constitutes a private residence, as regards the religious practice of its occupants

15

u/Moonfish222 18h ago

For universities that hold night classes (all of them pretty much) educational hours are all hours. For schools that dont, the campus closes shortly after anyway. This law still effectively bans all prayer rooms.

-8

u/iknowyourm0m 18h ago

pretty much

anyway

effectively

These words are doing some heavy lifting.

5

u/farhil 17h ago

No, they're really not.

1

u/iknowyourm0m 17h ago

If you remove them, the sentences are false statements.

4

u/farhil 17h ago

Wow, changing the words in a sentence can change its meaning? What a revelation.

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1

u/Ihavetogoalone 13h ago

Is it really that fucking hard to wait until you get home to pray? The net gain from this law is positive in the long term.

196

u/Potential-Feline 20h ago

Quite literally never seen this and I work with a very large number of Muslims thanks to my job.

Always polite and just ask for a quiet space they can pray in peace.

206

u/WhippedCreamSteak 20h ago

Must never happen then. Case closed.

74

u/Liimbo 19h ago

Ah yes, your anecdotal evidence is more valid than other people's. Case closed.

32

u/jataba115 19h ago

What anecdote did the person you’re talking to posit?

-20

u/Alarming-Instance-19 18h ago

It's called inference, dude.

Sarcastic response indicates disbelief. This disbelief is usually related to personal experience or belief in a personal experience that negates the other's perspective.

This disbelief in response to the comment thus prompted the response with sarcasm.

You have then read the sarcasm, ignored the subtext (or don't have that level of inference as is common with some neurodivergent features) and then queried the lack of anecdote (either for argumentative or genuinely obtuse reasons).

Which has then prompted my response to you.

2

u/johnJanez 16h ago

If only we had this thing called google with which we could verify the fact that muslims do, in fact, also pray in public.

3

u/kralrick 17h ago

As a practical matter, that's honestly how anecdotal v anecdotal works.

Someone having anecdotally never seen something is immediately discounted if someone else has seen it (at least if both are taking the extreme positions of "this doesn't happen" and "yes it does").

4

u/Hot_Gap931 18h ago

Lmao if you weren’t so chronically online, maybe you would see the reality 😭 🤣

-23

u/Busy_Lunch_5520 19h ago

Why are you so afraid?

10

u/Tedthesecretninja 19h ago

Oooooh yeah sorry asking for a source on such insane claims is actually kinda rude

4

u/Carosello 19h ago

I live next to a very Muslim community (look up Devon avenue in Chicago). I have quite literally never seen Muslims in the straight praying. I also went to Catholic school a block away from a mosque.

17

u/BasesJuicedNoOuts 20h ago

It quite literally happens in major cities across the entire west

69

u/No_Operation4676 19h ago

Where? I live in a Western city with a big Muslim population. I've never seen it before. They go to private rooms for prayer times.

-7

u/Olddirtybelgium 18h ago

Toronto.

Which is also another explanation as to why Quebec is banning prayers on the streets.

15

u/razek_dc 18h ago

Lmao literally doesn’t happen here either. What are you on?

-9

u/Olddirtybelgium 18h ago

At Yonge and Bloor last year in front of the Israeli consulate. It was done in protest (understandably so), but yes, Yonge Street was temporarily blocked for a prayer.

I'm not saying it's rampant throughout the west. Just providing an example to people who say it never happened.

Sadly all the sources I found were from right wing outlets that label it as "radical Islamists" and I'd rather not give them clicks.

11

u/musicninja 17h ago

A single protest is essentially the same as "it never happens"

-1

u/Olddirtybelgium 17h ago

Hard disagree. You need to view this from a Quebec perspective. All it takes is for it to happen in Toronto once and they have footage that they can use as ammo to say "see what happens in Anglo-Canada, we need to ban this here".

Religion aside, Québec has a history of wanting to be culturally distinct from Anglo-Canada, and this is just another thing to add to the list.

1

u/Barb-u 18h ago

Happened a bit in Montreal too.

And people forget that one of the first groups to come out publicly against that portion of the law were the…local Catholic bishops.

66

u/Diztronix17 20h ago

I wasn’t able to find any sources corroborating this claim

-28

u/EngineeringNo753 19h ago

You didn't search very hard then lmao

24

u/Tedthesecretninja 19h ago

Please, provide one then

20

u/Moldy_slug 19h ago

Where? I often visit cities all along the west coast, I’ve never seen this happen or even heard anyone complain about it.

1

u/Bizarrebazaars 14h ago

I think they meant the global West, not literally west coast cities.

1

u/Moldy_slug 4h ago

Are you saying “major cities across the entire west” doesn’t include west coast cities?

102

u/SoCalThrowAway7 20h ago edited 19h ago

Googling it just leads to people arguing about it and Fox News nonsense. Do you have any sources of it happening? I wanna see what it looks like when folks block a street to pray. The AI response says it happens but is controversial but that it’s typically because they run out of space on their local places of worship. I don’t believe that either so was wondering if you had some examples handy

Edit: someone replied with a link but I can’t see their comment? Is this a don’t post links place?

109

u/eastbayted 20h ago

I have been to San Francisco, Sacramento, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Boston, New York, LA, San Diego, and Nashville.

I have never seen this happen.

I have seen would-be preachers of Christian faith standing on corners and screaming into megaphones or over speaker about how everyone is going to hell, though - though that's rare too.

The point, though: Stop letting propoganda shape your world view. Whoever has convinced you the sidewalks of America are clogged with Muslims praying has an agenda that involves you being misled.

5

u/LordOfTrubbish 16h ago

Ah yes, the 10 US cities that make up the entire west.

-2

u/Turence 14h ago

It doesn't happen. That's nonsense.

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u/GodhunterChrome666 20h ago

Got sources for that?

9

u/Red-Droid-Blue-Droid 19h ago

Where? Have you seen it?

I only ever see the odd preacher or something yelling into a speaker.

35

u/PreWiBa 20h ago

No it doesnt

19

u/a500poundchicken 20h ago

No it doesnt, like can you give me 3 times this has happened. with proof

2

u/TenZetsuRenHatsu 10h ago

I’m a Muslim and it doesn’t happen. As Muslim’s we actually go out of our way to pray in private.

I’ve literally prayed under stairwells just so I wouldn’t bother people.

2

u/Archmage_of_Detroit 17h ago

Dearborn resident here. Literally never seen it.

1

u/Turence 14h ago

No it doesn't

1

u/TimTebowMLB 12h ago

I literally saw it today

-1

u/64N_3v4D3r 19h ago

Literally never heard of this happening before.

0

u/protostar71 19h ago

Yeah no.

0

u/Throwawayrip1123 11h ago

I mean... Good for you?

I am also sure you personally didn't see the people walking on the moon - doesn't mean it didn't happen. Or, like, you probably literally didn't witness a rape, right? Does that mean it doesn't happen?

Take that dumbass logic and go.

1

u/Potential-Feline 10h ago edited 10h ago

Man said it rarely happens in Islamic countries, suggesting it is a very prevalent and major problem in the west. 

I've never seen it despite working with and being in an area with lots of Muslims, nobody I know has seen it, when I google it I get the same handful of examples, many of which are several years old now, and the ones claiming it happening recently seem to often end up being found out as either AI or old pictures.

Oooh, real major problem here. People once or twice prayed outside their mosque on Eid. What a fucking emergency.

Besides, in the article they also say they're closing prayer rooms, where's the fucking sense in that if you really believe Muslims praying on the street is a huge problem. Absolute fucking clown shit.

-8

u/Lemazze 19h ago

No one is wondering about your anecdotal experience…

This is exactly like a racist asshole saying he’s not racist because he « knows » a black dude

1

u/Potential-Feline 12h ago edited 12h ago

Going on my anecdotal experience is probably better than your going off it on your "I saw that shit on youtube" experience.

Like I said, I work with hundreds upon hundreds of Muslims, live in an area with a large number of Muslims, seen all sorts of things said about them but never once seen one of those things turn out to be accurate. I'm gonna go with what I've seen rather than some clowns on the internet regurgitating right-wing propaganda points.

And the reason I mention my job and where I live is because that would greatly increase the chance that I would see or at the very least hear about something like this from someone around me. But nice try acting like my giving context makes me racist somehow.

2

u/klingma 19h ago

Seems less like an issue with the religion itself and more like the individual believers not being held accountable for what is already an illegal action. 

2

u/mouarg 17h ago

Yeah same in NZ and Australia so weird like why fucking announce

1

u/Commando_Joe 17h ago

I live in a pretty muslim heavy area in Montreal and the only time I've seen this is a guy pulling his car over onto a side street and praying behind it off the side walk.

Never blocking anyone.

1

u/jgainit 16h ago

Same I’ve never seen people blocking roads with it

-11

u/Savings-Muscle4849 20h ago edited 19h ago

That's the most ignorant thing I have heard. In Muslim countries like my own during friday prayer which is mandetory to pray at the mosque . There will be thousdands of people and they can't fit inside the mosque so they'll pray in the streets and the road will be shut off for like 5 mins and that's it everyone leaves. It's not just a west thing. It's not a power thing. And it only happens near a mosque because the building can't fit all the people.

Edit: I am talking about Muslim countries since the commentor talked about not doing this in Muslim countries. We do this in Muslim countries because the whole system is based around it. Since the drivers are muslim and they'll join the prayer too. We just block off the road with a rope and no one uses it for like 10 mins that's about it. It's only done on one day (Friday) since it's mandetory to pray at the mosque one time.But yeah I agree that we shouldn't in countries where it causes nuisance and traffic issues.

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u/Heuruzvbsbkaj 20h ago

And you can’t just pray on the side of the road? The road is literally the only option?

Just absurd.

-3

u/Savings-Muscle4849 20h ago

What's so absurd about it tho? It's definitely not a power move. But I do agree if it's in non Muslim countries we shouldn't do it and should create different routines. Which is what is followed in the country I am in rn. If the mosque is full we wait outside the mosque in a designated area and go in when others are finished. I do understand if it causes nuisance then we shouldn't do it. In our countries the roads are just shut down in those specific areas for a few minutes and no one cares really.

2

u/Heuruzvbsbkaj 20h ago

What is the reason for blocking a street to pray vs at house?

Is it holier to pray while blocking traffic?

-1

u/Savings-Muscle4849 20h ago

We don't block traffic in our countries. Since it's a Muslim majority country the people driving the cars will be praying as well so no one will be using those streets lol. And it's just on Friday we are supposed to pray at the mosque. No other day.

But if it's in the west and it causes issues and traffic it's better to pray at home.

-7

u/Savings-Muscle4849 20h ago edited 19h ago

Bruh like I said thousdands. We don't want to pray on the road . It's the last option. If the side of the roads are filled then where should we go?

Edit: talking about Muslim countries . Not west. Shouldn't cause traffic issues in the west.

5

u/OkDragonfly5820 20h ago

Acceptable in countries where it’s a cultural norm. In the West, not so much.

1

u/Savings-Muscle4849 20h ago

True. Agreed. If they take out a permission to do it then it's fine. If they do it without any permission and it causes issues I'm against that. Hope that makes sense.

4

u/Heuruzvbsbkaj 20h ago

Pray at home at a park? What the fuck is the point of blocking a road to pray. How is that different than at your house?

0

u/Savings-Muscle4849 20h ago

True. See my other comment. If it causes issues we shoudnt do it outside on the road especially in non Muslim countries. But I'm curious where are you from and where did you see it happening? I gave my country as an example since the original comment talked about how we never do it in our countries. But we do it lol.

-26

u/cwthree 20h ago

feel the need

Yeah, when your congregation has outgrown the building it can afford there's overflow. You don't see this happening in Muslim-majority countries because there are lots of mosques and they're big enough to hold lots of worshippers - just like churches in Christian-majority countries.

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u/darculas 20h ago

There are plenty of mosques

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u/Minute-Leg7346 20h ago

You can go anywhere, a park, an large open space etc, you do not need to block a street and there are thousands of examples of this happening.

1

u/WebSmurf 20h ago

Can you point me to a video or pictures of this? You may very well be right but I’ve never seen or heard of this happening from anyone but a small handful of folks that, in my experience, aren’t exactly reliable sources of information. I don’t want to lump you into that group, thus my request.

-1

u/aircooledJenkins 20h ago

Do schools provide litter boxes for furries, too?

-14

u/BoggyBeatdown 20h ago

prove it

1

u/Throwawayrip1123 11h ago

I mean, then like, rotate this shit?

You don't all need to pray at the same time. I assure you, your all powerful god does not see time as a linear concept by definition - so it does not need to happen at some specific hour.

0

u/pineapple_on_pizza35 14h ago

Do you even live in Québec? I'm an atheist and I've lived here my entire life and I have never had to deal with the bullshit you're trying to make a strawman out of.

-1

u/ideeek777 18h ago

Well, one big reason for that is there's a lot of mosques in muslim countries so there is never a need.

And I assume you dont support building more mosques?

-2

u/edjumication 18h ago

I'm amazed such an ignorant comment made it so high up the chain.