Twenty-five-year-old Farah Yameen returned to work after the winter holiday last January feeling more deeply connected to her faith.
But what she wore to work to show that faith - an Islamic headscarf, or hijab - led a co-worker to tell Yameen in front of other employees that she was "scaring people."
Yameen and the co-worker, Judy Finlay, both worked at the financial aid office of the University of Toronto faculty of law, a faculty that prides itself on the courses it offers on Islamic law and the fact that 30 per cent of its students are visible minorities. It is yet another case of offensive, ethnically-charged statements occurring on U of T's usually tolerant campus.
Yameen, who worked part-time as an office assistant, was getting ready to leave after work on January 11 when Finlay, the faculty's assistant registrar, made the remarks.
"She said I look scary and am scaring people," said the U of T graduate. "She said that you should leave your religion behind when you come to Canada. I told her wearing the hijab was a symbol of my faith. [Link]