Every week, for the last several months, Islamic afternoon prayers have been held outside Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica. The prayers are hosted by the group Montreal4Palestine, which has used the space outside the church to protest Israel’s continuing war in Gaza.
It’s either a beautiful or egregiously provocative scene, depending on how you look at it. Beautiful for what it illustrates about the freedoms afforded to people in Canada: the ability to practice one’s religion outside the place of worship of another religion. Egregiously provocative for what one might infer about the motives of those who have chosen Notre-Dame at the site for their protest and prayers.
No matter how you slice it, it is an act of aggression by a cult that should never have been permitted entry to Canada.
