Muslim parents in Maryland ripped Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying much of the fear over LGBTQ themes in schools was fueled by American right-wing extremists, with one mother saying Trudeau effectively called her a bigot.
Last week, Trudeau spoke to parents at a mosque in Calgary after hundreds of Muslim parents gathered in Ottawa on June 9 and 13 to protest against LGBTQ education in schools.
Trudeau told the Calgary crowd that ‘people on social media, particularly fueled by the American right wing’ were stirring up the protests and said they were pursuing their own interests.
The Canadian leader said that LGBTQ issues were being weaponized and what is shared in the media is not accurate.
However, a family in Maryland took exception to his comments saying: ‘When we spoke, we were categorized as the right wing. We were categorized as bigots.’
Justin Trudeau is seen last week meeting Muslims in a Calgary mosque to hear their concerns about LGBTQ issues in the curriculum. He said that many of the claims made on social media were disinformation, amplified by the far right in the United States
Trudeau said those complaining on social media about LGBTQ issues in schools were ‘spreading a lot of untruths about what’s actually in provincial curriculums.’
He added: ‘They are weaponizing the issue of LGBT, which is something that, yes, Islam has strong opinions on.
‘This is not what is being said out there about aggressive teaching or conversion of kids to being LGBT.
‘That is something that is being weaponized by people who are not doing it because of their interest in supporting the Muslim community.’
However, in America, at least one set of Muslim parents told Fox News on Tuesday they were offended by Trudeau’s remarks
‘I take much offense to what he said,’ Binnish Mustafa, mother to a seven-year-old special needs child. ‘This is something that really affected us here in Montgomery County.’
She said Trudeau was ignorant about the reality in U.S. schools, saying he ‘really needs to go to the public school classroom and sit there and see the discussions that follow certain classroom books that are being discussed.’
She accused Trudeau of being intolerant of views different to his.
‘I would say, Mr Trudeau, how accepting and tolerating are you of views that are different than yours?’ she added.
‘I mean, you don’t seem like the nicest guy when it comes to that.’
Binnish Mustafa, a Maryland mother, said she was offended by Trudeau’s blaming of their fears on right-wing disinformation
Kareem Monib, who has children at school in Montgomery County, Maryland, said it was ‘sad’ that Trudeau cited their concerns to ‘right-wing manipulation’
Trudeau, speaking on June 8 at a Pride event in Ottawa, defended schools featuring stories that had LGBTQ characters and themes
Another parent, Kareem Monib, told Fox that he felt Trudeau was ill-informed about what was happening in U.S. schools, and was simply parroting what his fellow liberals said in defense of a ‘woke’ curriculum.
‘It’s shocking that Trudeau would use the same kind of silly arguments that are being used in the United States,’ he said.
‘I’m surprised that they don’t have anything else to say other than to accuse parents who are truly concerned and want to pass on their religious teachings to their kids – to say that that’s right-wing manipulation.
‘It’s just sad,’ Monib added.
‘He’s either lying or he’s misinformed. The curriculum is there. Everyone can read it.’
Montgomery County, which lies just north west of Washington DC, has itself become something of a hotbed of Muslim protest against LGBTQ topics at schools.
In June, hundreds of mainly Muslim parents demonstrated outside the Montgomery County Board of Education’s meeting demanding that Maryland’s largest school district allow them to shield their children from books and lessons that contain LGBTQ+ characters.
The books that feature LGBTQ+ characters are a part of a supplemental curriculum the school system launched this academic year, with new books for every grade level, including kindergarten to fifth grade.
The Muslim parents have argued that the school system is violating their religious rights protected under the First Amendment by not providing an opt-out, and three families have filed a lawsuit against the school system.
Under Maryland law, the only opt-out available is for a specific unit on sexuality and family life in the health education curriculum.
