The Peel District School Board in Canada has removed one of its school council person Indian origin ‘Ravi Hooda’ for a Islamophobic tweet in which Hooda is upset that Brampton is allowing mosques broadcast the call to prayer.
The Brampton Mayor said in a tweet that “Our noise by law originally passed in 1984 only included an exemption for Church bells. It will now include all faiths within the permitted hours & decibel levels. The Muslim community can proceed with the sunset azan because it’s 2020 & we treat all faiths equally.”
Last week, several Toronto-area municipalities granted local mosques permission to broadcast the azan or call to prayer over speakers at sunset every day during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
The move was a welcome one to many in light of a pandemic that’s made gathering for prayer impossible and left places of worship empty.
Our noise by law originally passed in 1984 only included an exemption for Church bells. It will now include all faiths within the permitted hours & decibel levels. The Muslim community can proceed with the sunset azan because it’s 2020 & we treat all faiths equally. #Ramadan pic.twitter.com/WGPmf8fA5b
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownont) April 30, 2020
After the announcement by Mayor, Ravi Hooda said in his tweet that “What’s next? Separate lanes for camel & goat riders, allowing slaughter of animals at home in the name of sacrifice, bylaw requiring all women to cover themselves from head to toe in tents to appease the piece fools for votes.”
Ravi Hooda made his Twitter account private after posting the derogatory comments.
Who is Ravi Hooda?
On his Twitter profile, Ravi Hooda identifies himself as a “professional realtor, immigration consultant” and “community volunteer.”
According to the Peel District School Board, he was also an executive school council member for the Macville Public School in the city of Bolton. School councils are comprised of parents, staff and community representatives and advise principals on a range of topics including codes of behaviour, budget priorities, and curriculum delivery.
That changed Tuesday morning, when the board tweeted that Hooda was being removed from his role as school council chair and will no longer be allowed to participate on council “in any other capacity.”
This guy's is also apart of the school council at @MacvillePS. @PeelSchools can you look into this ? pic.twitter.com/MNKweN5C1L
— NA (@UmungiNa) May 4, 2020
In a letter posted online, Macville school principal Robin Perri wrote, “Today, we were made aware of a disturbing, Islamophobic tweet that was written and shared by a member of our parent community. We immediately conducted an investigation into the matter.” Perri said the content contravened its Safe and Accepting Schools Policy.
“Please know that this individual’s views in no way reflect the values of the Macville Public School community, nor those of the Peel board. Comments like these are upsetting and hurtful, and never acceptable.”
The tweet also prompted comment from Remax Canada, which tweeted that it “does not support these opinions” and is “addressing this matter.”
