...but you don't get why people are concerned with bringing large numbers of people from places with widespread homophobia and misogyny into Canada?
-k
I would agree that by and large, Muslims are more conservative than the general population. But so are Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, etc., so I don't see Muslim conservatism as any kind of existential threat.
I recognize that domestic violence is an issue with Muslims (and Hindus and Christians and many other religious groups), and that it tends to be higher among immigrant groups (regardless of origin) than among the general population. In my opinion, domestic violence within the Muslim community can and should be addressed within the wider issue of domestic violence in Canada and within immigrant groups.
I recognize that homophobic attitudes also exist in higher numbers among the Muslim population, but homophobia is not, by any means, limited to Muslims: rednecks all across the country would agree with them. And again, in my opinion, homophobia should be addressed within Canada for all groups, not just Muslims.
I think "large numbers" is relative. Not all of our 250,000 immigrants to Canada are from "conservative" countries (Middle East, Africa, etc). Even for those who are from those countries, not all of them are going to be misogynistic or homophobic. I agree that most will probably have that "man as head of the house" attitude and will disapprove of homosexuality, but most of those will also not be interested in imposing those beliefs on the rest of us. Even in Muslim-majority countries where homosexuality is illegal, homosexuals live - their family/friends even know, and do not turn them in so while they may disapprove, most don't disapprove enough to want to harm that person. As for "misogyny" - that term is somewhat subjective. By some opinion, every Christian household who has man as head, female as submissive is misogynistic. By other opinions, the 'good ol' boys' club in corporate culture isn't the least misogynistic - women are kept in lower/female professions because they 'choose' to be there by having babies and other such frivolous behavior.
This isn't to say that I think there is no misogyny in Islam, because I do - their whole notion that women are entitled to less inheritance or that their word is less credible and similar is pretty disgusting. Cultural practices like FGM and marrying a woman to her rapist, or blaming a woman for being
**** - even more disgusting. Still, we have laws against that kind of stuff in Canada and while it's true that not everyone will follow the law, it's also true that as a species, humans are more inclined than not to behave within the norms of their society - that inherent attribute is a key component of why we've managed to live in successfully in large groups, in Saudi Arabia or Canada. There are always outliers, of course, whether it's a woman in SA who wears a miniskirt in public or a man in Canada who kills "his" woman for any reason whatsoever.
The problem I see with deciding that because Muslims come from countries which have laws against gays and fail on gender equality, then all Muslims must agree and so we should limit or eliminate their entry into our country is that we fail the woman in SA who wants to wear a miniskirt, we fail the homosexuals who are trying to live safely within their country, we fail the men and women worldwide who are working to reform Islam, whether from outside or inside their Muslim-majority countries. Instead of giving a battered woman a chance to leave her batterer, we say no - stay where you are until you are just like us. Instead of offering a safe place for a Muslim person who might be gay - we say no - the risk to us is too great because while you might be ok, your family/friends might not be. I personally don't want to do that.