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“Canadian children are being introduced to Sharia values,” Lilley said in a posted video. “Without even being asked, the University of Regina decides to introduce Canadian children to Sharia swimming, and then says, ‘this is all about diversity.’ ”

But Harold Riemer, dean of the U of R’s kinesiology department, said the program had in fact been asked by Syrian parents that religious beliefs be taken into consideration, something the university was glad to do.

“The Syrian kids are participating with other kids in a co-ed environment, sometimes a non-co-ed environment,” he said. “The pool is a unique one just because people undress for that; it’s a different beast.”

Riemer said the summer sports school, which hosts Syrian newcomers between the ages of five and 12, will continue running along the same lines.

“(The idea that) the Syrians came so now we’re segregating everybody, that’s a misrepresentation of what happens here, and has happened here for years,” he said, adding that this is not the first year swimming has been divided by sex.

He said for planning purposes, separating boys and girls of all religions made most sense, once the request was made.

“It complicates the issue,” he admitted of the religious element behind the decision. “But at the same time, the university makes accommodations for people all the time, for religious and non-religious reasons.”

Zarqa Nawaz, a Muslim woman and Regina resident, said this was a case of kindness blown out of proportion.