Concordia Muslim Students’ Association removes controversial books
University has offered the association help to go through more texts
CBC News Posted: Mar 05, 2015 5:27 PM ETLast Updated: Mar 05, 2015 6:04 PM ET
The Concordia University Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) has removed some controversial writings from its book collection after a meeting with the administration of the school.
It also decided to conduct an audit of the whole collection to determine whether there were other items that should be removed.
Earlier this week, French-language network TVA reported that the student organization had books by Muslim authors with radical and controversial views.
Ibrahim Abou Arab, vice-president external for the association, told CBC’s Daybreak his organization was unfairly portrayed in the report.
Concordia’s Muslim Students Association library sparks debate11:49
But Abou Arab said his organization would look more closely at its books, which, according to the TVA report, featured commentary on female genital mutilation and beating one’s wife without leaving marks.
‘If we find something that crosses the line or something that is radical or too extreme, then of course, it’ll be off the shelf forever.’– Ibrahim Abou Arab, Muslim Students’ Association
“We’re going to through them book by book, and if we find something that crosses the line or something that is radical or too extreme, then of course, it’ll be off the shelf forever,” Abou Arab said.
The university has offered the MSA the services of the university library to help them through the process.
“Student associations have [the] right to have book collections on university premises,” said a statement from the university administration.
“But with that right comes the responsibility to ensure that the contents respect the law and reflect the values of the institute.”