by JUNAID B. JAHANGIR & KRISTOPHER WELLS
Each summer, Pride is celebrated across the world in support of LGBTQ+ inclusion, diversity and human rights. Given the recent backlash against LGBTQ+ communities in Canada and elsewhere, Pride is more important than ever to promote visibility and challenge discrimination.
In recent months, some Muslim communities in Canada and the United States have protested against LGBTQ+ inclusion. Socially conservative Muslims have criticized what they see as growing LGBTQ+ “indoctrination” in schools and society more broadly.
In Michigan, a Muslim majority city council banned Pride flags from being flown on city property. In Ottawa, young children at an anti-LGBTQ+ protest stomped on Pride flags.
Similar protests also took place in Calgary and Edmonton, where one teacher was surreptitiously recorded lecturing Muslim students about skipping school as part of a national protest movement against Pride month activities. The National Council of Canadian Muslims cited the teacher’s comments as Islamophobic.
Pride and protest
This year the Christian anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition, organized a National Pride Flag Walk-Out Day on June 1 designed to target Pride month celebrations in public schools. The walk-out protests were also supported by a series of “pray-ins” held at Catholic school boards and dioceses across Canada.
Given their vast financial resources and faith networks, Christian evangelicals have redoubled their efforts targeting LGBTQ+ communities, which have been buoyed by recent political lobbying successes in Uganda, which saw the government pass some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world.
The Conversation for more