Early morning Muslim prayers in a Montreal park were rejected by citizens

A Muslim celebration in a Montreal park has been criticized by citizens, especially for its early morning hours.

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An Islamic gathering to mark Eid al-Adha is to be held in the Parc des Hirondelles in Ahnsik-Cartierville on Sunday or early Monday morning.

The event officially begins at 7am, but begins with a prayer to be said at 6:45am in the heart of a residential area.

Many netizens disapproved of this religious celebration on social networks, asserting that religious demonstrations cannot be held in public places. However, the meeting received the blessing of the city of Montreal, which gave permission for it to take place.

In an interview on QUB radio, the mayor of the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district, Émilie Thuillier, sought to reassure citizens opposed to the event.

“I hear very well that we want no religion in the parks. It’s really a reflection of what we have,” he declared.

Ms. Thuillier confirmed that the holding of these types of events was limited by the municipal administration. However, he noted that Parc des Hirondelles hosts a Christian Mass every year in August.

“If we allow open assembly for one religion, we should allow it for another,” Meyer maintains.

“It’s not something we want to see too much of. It’s actually in a very condensed way,” he adds.

• Listen to an interview with the Mayor of the Ahnsik-Cartierville District on QUB Radio by Benoit Dudrysak at the microphone

The Eid prayer took place last year and everything went well, the mayor of Ahnsik-Cartierville underlines.

“People were still very careful. They are well aware (of this issue) and they live in the metropolis or a neighboring metropolis. So, these are people in the community who understand very well that at 7 in the morning, it’s not the time to make a lot of noise,” the elected official notes.

“As mayor, I get a lot of complaints about events that end very late in the evening with loud music till 11pm,” he adds.

Although she understands the citizens’ arguments against the gathering, Emily Tullier wants to prevent the debate from falling into Islamophobia and racism.

“I invite people to really think about it. Should we remove all religions from streets and parks? Let’s have a debate, but for all religions (that is) not to discriminate against one religion over another,” he says.