Muslim group calls kaffiyeh incident at Oakville school ‘appalling’

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) weighed in on a recent incident at an Oakville high school where a student accused a teacher of calling him a “terrorist” for wearing a Palestinian kaffiyeh.

The confrontation, which took place last Friday (Apr. 26) at Iroquois Ridge High School, was captured on video and shared on social media. It shows a video of a female staff member telling the student that the kaffiyeh, reminds her of Hamas and tells the student to be careful while wearing it.

The student then asks the teacher several times if she is calling him a terrorist for wearing the black and white scarf worn in the Middle East that has become a symbol for those who support Palestine in its conflict with Israel.

Hamas, a political and military group, is officially recognized by Canada as a terrorist organization.

“We are aware of an incident inside a school in Ontario’s Halton region where a student was labelled a “terrorist” for wearing the keffiyeh scarf,” said the NCCM on social media. “It is utterly appalling and completely unacceptable for this kind of anti-Palestinian racism to exist in our schools, let alone to children.”

In a message written on the high school’s website, Principal John Stieva said the behaviour is “harmful” and “unacceptable” and the teacher involved in the incident has been sent home pending an investigation by the Halton District School Board.

“Teachers and administrators are supposed to protect students from this kind of racism, not enable or produce it,” wrote NCCM. “We salute the courage of this young man in standing up against racism.

“Let’s be clear: this teacher has no place in the classroom.”

The NCCM, listed as a non-profit grassroots human rights and civil liberties organization, says it will continue to monitor the situation.

“We are in touch with those involved, as well as local advocates like (Muslim Advisory Council of Canada) to push for change,” said NCCM in their tweet on the X platform. “We will have more updates as the situation evolves.”