.... In a 2012 interview with a Montreal radio station, Benhabib lamented that Qur’anic verses published on the school’s website referred to the need for young girls to stay pure. She also stated they criticized non-Muslims.
She was also critical of the fact the school uniform included the hijab for young girls.
“(The school) resembles the kind of indoctrination similar to what goes on in a military camp in Afghanistan or Pakistan,” she told the radio host.
Benhabib added during the interview the school “models itself on a society different than ours. It’s a model where women have to lower their heads and walk behind men. Where kids are forced to learn Qur’anic verses and where, probably, men will commit honour crimes against their sisters.”
The head of the school’s board of governors, Ahmed Khebir, testified that enrolment dropped after Benhabib’s interview but the judge said the evidence he provided to the court didn’t support that claim.
Hallee said in her decision that Khebir and the other witnesses who testified on behalf of the school could not prove the institution’s reputation was damaged or that Benhabib wanted to cause any harm. [Toronto Star] Read more
