There is a PowerPoint slide I have in a presentation entitled "Islam 101" that I have given at several talks in and around the city over the past few years.

It shows a picture of a Catholic nun, and beside it, a picture of a Muslim woman wearing the hijab. Under the nun is the caption "Blessed." Under the Muslim woman is the caption "Oppressed."

The slide is intended to trigger the viewer to scrutinize their personal biases and thought processes when they see a nun covering her hair, and when they see a Muslim woman wearing a hijab — an article of faith that a Muslim woman chooses to wear to please Allah (God).

What these thought processes morph into when a non-Muslim sees a woman wearing the niqab — the full face covering, revealing only the eyes — is a whole different animal. Fear, terror, horror, disgust, are just some of the reactions that come to mind.

Fortunately, to the relief of those who fear it, the number of Muslim women who choose to wear the niqab is very small. In the entire province of Quebec, the number has been estimated at less than 100.

The niqab was traditionally worn by the wives of Prophet Muhammad — peace be upon him. The Muslim women who choose to wear the niqab, decide to wear it out of love and adoration of Allah, Islam and the Prophet. They seek to more closely emulate the virtuous traits of the women who were closest to the Prophet. They seek to pursue a level of modesty and purity above and beyond what the basic standard the traditional hijab requires.

Love it or hate it, it is their choice and must be respected.

The niqab is not worn exclusively by foreign-born and raised women, it is also commonly worn by women who have converted to Islam, and even women born and raised here in Canada.

Last month, Bill 62, a bigoted piece of legislation, was passed by the Quebec legislature. This bill requires Muslim women to uncover their faces if they want to receive and give public services.

In short, Bill 62 dictates to Muslim women in what manner they must dress in society.

Huh? Isn't this precisely what many non-Muslims mistakenly believe Muslim men do to their wives and daughters? Give orders to them how they must dress?

What I believe we are seeing by the introduction of these bills are evidence of our politicians jockeying up in preparation for the next federal and provincial elections. Our politicians, Justin Trudeau included — are indeed "chickening out against bigotry" as Howard Elliott states in his Oct. 25 editorial. Instead of calling it out for what it is, Trudeau waffled and said he wants to study the "implications" of the Bill.

Canada's growing right wing, the racists and bigots who long to see a blond-haired, blue-eyed white Canada, are voters too (I gather they must have soiled their pants when Jagmeet Singh won the federal NDP leadership). It appears there are a lot of such voters in Quebec, let alone across Canada, and so our politicians must tread carefully.

As we move closer to the next elections, I predict we will see political leaders trying to capture votes from this sector by conjuring the forces of fear and hate — a strategy which sadly has a proven track record in our neighbouring nation to the south.

Bill 62, and our federal government's response to it, is just a glimpse of what is to come.

To put this into a bit of perspective — would we even be having this conversation if we were in Dubai? In India? In Africa? In Turkey?

This is pure bigotry and politics of fear — plain and simple. This is not about security and "keeping Canada safe". Canadians are smarter than this.

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I have a message for our current and would-be MPs and MPPs. Get used to a culturally and ethnically diverse Canada that is not exclusively blond-haired and blue-eyed. Stick to your true Canadian values of inclusivity and openness and don't kowtow to those who spread fear and hate.

Indeed, we just learned from our National Census the following: 1) our Indigenous population is growing rapidly — more than four times the rate of the non-Indigenous population, 2) More than 1 in 5 Canadians are immigrants, the highest share in 85 years, and 3) 22.3 per cent of Canada's population belong to a visible minority group. These figures are projected to climb much higher by 2036.

I close with a message to all those who are white, blond-haired and blue-eyed. All of us brown and Muslim folk love this great country as much as you do. Let's get to know each other a little better and be friends, and your fear will just melt away. Really.