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Muslims Reject Laws Against Stoning Women

From a shocked Reuters:

Patrons Yvon Baillargeon (left) and Roland Simoneau sit in a bar with server Carole Casabon in Herouxville, Que., which adopted a ‘declaration of norms.’

Town to immigrants: you can’t kill women

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Immigrants wishing to live in the small Canadian town of Herouxville, Quebec, must not stone women to death in public, burn them alive or throw acid on them, according to an extraordinary set of rules released by the local council.

The declaration, published on the town’s Web site, has deepened tensions in the predominantly French-speaking province over how tolerant Quebecers should be toward the customs and traditions of immigrants.

"We wish to inform these new arrivals that the way of life which they abandoned when they left their countries of origin cannot be recreated here," said the declaration, which makes clear women are allowed to drive, vote, dance, write checks, dress how they want, work and own property.

"Therefore we consider it completely outside these norms to … kill women by stoning them in public, burning them alive, burning them with acid, circumcising them etc."

No one on the town council was available for comment on Tuesday. Herouxville, which has 1,300 inhabitants, is about 160 km (100 miles) northeast of Montreal.

Andre Drouin, the councilor who devised the declaration, told the National Post newspaper that the town was not racist.

"We invite people from all nationalities, all languages, all sexual orientations, whatever, to come live with us, but we want them to know ahead of time how we live," he said…

The Herouxville regulations say girls and boys can exercise together and people should only be allowed to cover their faces at Halloween. Children must not take weapons to school, it adds, although the Supreme Court of Canada has already ruled that Sikh boys have the right to carry ceremonial daggers.

Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal, said the declaration had "set the clock back for decades" as far as race relations were concerned.

"I was shocked and insulted to see these kinds of false stereotypes and ignorance about Islam and our religion … in a public document written by people in authority who discriminate openly," he told Reuters…

The Herouxville declaration is available, in English and French, at the "avis public" section of the town’s Web site:

http://tinyurl.com/382wgj

Here is the text in English (from the site’s pdf file):

Municipalité Hérouxville

Publication of Standards

The social development and territory security are some of the major objective goals of the democratically voted individuals in our MRC. Hérouxville being part of the MRC, we share these same objectives.

To do this, we would like to invite, without discrimination, in the future, all people from outside our MRC that would like to move to this territory.

Without discrimination means to us, without regard to race or to the color of skin, mother tongue spoken, sexual orientation, religion, or any other form of beliefs.

So that the future residents can integrate socially more easily, we have decided unanimously, to make public, certain standards already in place and very well anchored in the lives of our electors.

These standards come from our municipal laws being Federal or Provincial, and all voted democratically. They also come from the social life and habits & customs of all residents of our territory.

Our objective is to show that we support the wishes of our electors and this being shown clearly by the results of our poll regarding this issue. And our goal is to inform the new arrivals to our territory, how we live to help them make a clear decision to integrate into our area.

We would especially like to inform the new arrivals that the lifestyle that they left behind in their birth country cannot be brought here with them and they would have to adapt to their new social identity.

Published by

The mayor and 6 city counselors of Hérouxville, democratically elected.

Municipalité Hérouxville

The Standards

Our Women

We consider that men and women are of the same value. Having said this, we consider that a woman can; drive a car, vote, sign checks, dance, decide for herself, speak her peace, dress as she sees fit respecting of course the democratic decency, walk alone in public places, study, have a job, have her own belongings and anything else that a man can do. These are our standards and our way of life.

However, we consider that killing women in public beatings, or burning them alive are not part of our standards of life.

Our Children

Our children are required to attend public or private schools to insure their social development and to help integrate into our society. Any form of violence towards children is not accepted.

Our Festivities

We listen to music, we drink alcoholic beverages in public or private places, we dance and at the end of every year we decorate a tree with balls and tinsel and some lights. This is normally called “Christmas Decorations” or also “Christmas Tree” letting us rejoice in the notion of our national heritage and not necessarily a religious holiday. These festivities are authorized in public, schools, and institutions and also in private.

Our Health Care

In our old folks homes men and women are treated by responsible men and women. Please note that there is no law voted democratically that prohibits a woman treating a man and a man treating a woman. In our hospitals and CLSC’s woman doctors can treat men and women and the same for the men doctors. This same principle applies for nurses, firemen and women, ambulance technicians. These responsible people do not have to ask permission to perform blood transfusions or any task needed to save a life. For the last few years men have been allowed into the delivery room to assist in the birth of their baby. They have been with their wives to prenatal courses to help them in this task.

In the said establishments the patients are offered traditional meals. There is often music playing in the background. There are magazines or news papers available and any other form of multimedia that shows our community spirit and our way of life.

Our Education

In our schools certified men and women teach our children. The women or men teachers can teach boys or girls with no sexual discrimination. They do not have to dress any different to accomplish their tasks.

In our schools the children cannot carry any weapons real or fake, symbolic or not. The children can sing, play sports or play in groups.

To promote decency and to avoid all discrimination some schools have adopted a dress code that they strongly enforce.

For the last few years to draw away from religious influences or orientation no locale is made available for prayer or any other form of incantation. Moreover, in many of our schools no prayer is allowed. We teach more science and less religion.

In our scholastic establishments, be private or public, generally, at the end of the year you will possibly see “Christmas Decorations” or “Christmas Trees” The children might also sing “Christmas Carols” if they want to.

Many of our schools have cafeterias that serve traditional foods. Students may decide to eat elsewhere.

The history of Quebec is taught in our schools. Biology lessons are also given.

Our Sports & Leisure

For the longest time boys and girls have played the same games and often play together.

For example, if you came to my place we would send the kids to swim together in the pool, don’t be surprised this is normal for us.

You would see men and women skiing together on the same hill at the same time, don’t be surprised this is normal for us.

You would also see men and women playing hockey together, don’t be surprised this is normal for us.

In our public swimming pools we have men and women lifeguards for our security to protect us from drowning, don’t be surprised this is normal for us.

All the laws adopted that permit these phenomenons have followed a strict democratic process. You would appreciate this new life style and share our habits & customs.

Our Security

Our immense territory is patrolled by police men and women of the “Surete du Quebec”. They have always been allowed to question or to advise or lecture or to give out an infraction ticket to either a man or woman. You may not hide your face as to be able to identify you while you are in public. The only time you may mask or cover your face is during Halloween, this is a religious traditional custom at the end of October celebrating all Saints Day, where children dress up and go door to door begging for candy and treats. All of us accept to have our picture taken and printed on our driver’s permit, health care card and passports. A result of democracy.

Our Work Place

The employers must respect the governmental laws regarding work conditions. These laws include holidays known and accepted in advance by all employees. These work conditions are negotiated democratically and once accepted both parties respect them.

No law or work condition imposes the employer to supply a place of prayer or the time during the working day for this activity. You will also see men and women working side by side. We wear safety helmets on worksites, when required by law.

Our Business

Our businesses are governed by municipal, provincial and federal laws. In our busi-nesses men and women work together and serve the clientele whether they be man or woman.

The products sold by these businesses can be of any kind. Food products for example must be approved by different governmental agencies before being offered to the general public. You might see in the same store several different types of meat, eg. Beef , chicken, pork and lamb.

Other stores offer their clientele a place and equipment to exercise. These places have windows that their clientele can look outside while exercising and are composed of men and women dressed in clothing appropriate for exercising.

Our Families

You will appreciate that both parents manage the children needs and both have the same authority. The parents can be of the same race or not, be from the same country or not, have the same religion or not, even be of the same sex or not.

If a boy or girl wants to get married, they may, they have the liberty to chose who their spouse will be. The democratic process is applied to ensure each and everyone’s liberty to choose.

In our families, the boys and girls eat together at the same table and eat the same food. They can eat any type of meat, vegetables or fruit. They don’t eat just meat or just vegetables they can eat both at the same time and this throughout the whole year.

If our children eat meat for example, they don’t need to know where it came from or who killed it.Our people eat to nourish the body not the soul.

Other

You might still see crosses that tell our past. They are an integrated part of our history and patrimony and should be considered as such.

To publish all the laws and standards of Municipalité Hérouxville would be a tedious task. The standards published above are just a sample so the new arrivals to this territory can clearly identify with us before making their decision to move here.

Certainly, being the elected members, we would give the new arrivals the assurance that the conditions that they have fled from in their country would not happen again here in our territory.. Consequently, the peace of mind that we live with will always be.

It must be very clear that any person or persons, groups legal or not that would like to modify our habits and customs or our general way of life cannot do so without going through a referendum process following all laws put forward by our towns and municipalities. These referendums will be at the petitioner or petitioner’s cost.

Signed jointly by

the mayor and 6 city counselors of Hérouxville, all democratically elected.

Sounds pretty sensible.

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17 Responses to “Muslims Reject Laws Against Stoning Women”

  1. cheeflo

    “Last year a Montreal gym agreed to install frosted windows after a nearby Hasidic synagogue said it was offended by the sight of adults exercising.”

    If I recall, it was a nearby Hasidic school which had classroom windows facing the gym. Their concern was in maintaining the attention of the teenage boys who were distracted by the women who were exercising in the gym’s window. A reasonable request respectfully made. It was not about taking offense.

    Naturally the newspaper had to frame it this way, equating the ordinary concerns of observant Jews with the irrational sexism and prudery of Muslims.

  2. Retired_Chief

    Right on! Unfortunately, I’m sure that the riches of the ACLU and CAIR of Canada have a few choice words the for the 1300 person population of Herouxville. They’ll, as usual, take the small town to court and it’ll cost the small town more money that they can afford and then they’ll succumb to the madness of the radical mooselimbs…

  3. Kilmeny

    Well, how about that? Common sense, for a change. Makes me suddenly proud to be one-fourth French Canadian. Vous leur dites, Herouxville.

  4. SG

    Hey, there seems to be religious intolerance everywhere.

    From the BBC:

    Arrests after ‘adultery’ stoning

    Tuesday, 30 January 2007

    Two people have been arrested after a couple were tied to a tree and stoned to death for allegedly committing adultery, Pakistani police say.

    They were killed in a village in Punjab province on Sunday. Police said those arrested were relatives of the woman.

    A law passed in December 2004 at the instigation of President Pervez Musharraf introduced the death penalty for some so called “honour killings”.

    These are carried out because family honour is seen to have been violated.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6314495.stm

  5. Privatestock

    Salam Elmenyowi of the muslim council of Montreal has it wrong. These people understand EXACTLY what islam is all about. We have almost daily proof somewhere in the world.

  6. jewelciappio

    I am pretty sure “casting stones” is not tolerated in Islam either. Correct me if i’m wrong.

  7. 1sttofight

    You are wrong, jewel.

  8. nodems

    Jewelciappio,
    Where have you been hiding in? A cave?

    Muslims in Africa wanted to stone a woman because was raped.
    also
    Swiss Court Reinstates Muslim Teacher Who Defended Stoning for Adultery.
    also
    http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm

    You need to educate yourself. You are wrong.

  9. Privatestock

    From Wikipedia under “stoning”:
    Stoning, or lapidation, refers to a judicial or quasi-judicial execution method carried out by an organized group throwing stones or rocks.

    Stoning has been used throughout history in a number of places as a form of capital punishment, both in the form of “community justice” and also as a judicial form of capital punishment. The practice was common among the ancient Greeks and in Judaism, and later in Islam, stoning was prescribed in religious texts as the punishment for a variety of sins.

    Crimes sometimes historically punished by stoning include blasphemy, apostasy, prostitution, adultery, and murder.

    Although not common, it remains in use in several Islamic countries both unofficially and officially.

    Stoning is a legal sentence for certain activities deemed criminal in some (but not all) of the Islamic countries governed by Sharia law.

  10. patricko

    This is really going to put a damper on the “Stoning of the Whores” festival next week.

  11. Privatestock

    That’s a different kind of stoning….

  12. 1sttofight

    Is that simular to the “Getting stoned with whores festival”?

  13. groovygrl

    Marion Berry is the Chairman of the Committee, also includes Frank Gifford, Ted Haggard, and Jim Baker.

  14. RD

    A few years ago I was visiting a city over a thousand miles away from my regular dentist when I developed a dental emergency. I picked a dentist out of the yellow pages and lucked out with a very good one but it was the dental surgeon he referred me to that really impressed me. His waiting room was full of patients and it was obvious that I was lucky he was willing to see me. In preparation for the surgery scheduled the next day one of his assistants handed me four sheets of instructions and asked me to read and sign them. One page was a listing of things I needed to do in prepartation for the surgery, the next page was a listing of the things that I could expect during the surgery, the next was the things I needed to do post surgery and the last was complications that could occur and what I could do in their event. These things were all enumerated and presented paragraph by paragraph and I was asked to initial each paragraph as I read it and his assistant stood beside me and as I initialed each one she asked me if I understood it and could follow it-needless to say everything went as planned and there were no complications.
    This experience impressed me and I wonder if we could not use such a clear understanding of what is expected of people who immigrate to this country. Perhaps some of the rules and customs that we Americans practice should be put in a legal form and people applying for immigration could be asked to initial them paragraph by paragraph and asked if they understood them and agreed to them-No changing American customs but accepting what America is about, no exceptions, no excuses, no misunderstanding and no accommodating other customs if there is a conflict.(and certainly no stoning-congratulations to this community)

  15. suek

    >>”I was shocked and insulted to see these kinds of false stereotypes and ignorance about Islam and our religion … in a public document written by people in authority who discriminate openly,>>

    I was able to get to the page from a link on AmericanThinker. You have to click on a particular link in the upper left hand corner to get the English version. The link is partially covered by a logo of some sort, but it still works.
    Interestingly, I saw absolutely no mention of islam or any other religion. Just “this is how we do things, and you might want to know it before you come”.

    It must just be our different point of views, but I don’t see any discrimination here - it seems to apply to Jews and Buddists as well as anybody else. If it _doesn’t_ pertain because they just don’t happen to stone women etc…well, such is life.

    And …oh yeah….I agree with RD on the immigrants initialing the statement etc. That is, if you catch them.

  16. SG

    I’ve updated the article with the full statement in English from the site’s pdf file.

  17. Lurkin_no_mo

    “I was just kinda lurkin’…’” Bob Sanders, Safety, Indianapolis Colts on the defensive plays he made to ensure Colts’ victories in the playoffs.
    See! Lurkin’ is “in”. But still, “Go Bears!”


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