A Muslim woman has filed a complaint with Quebec’s Human Rights Commission after a provincially supported Montreal college expelled her when she refused to remove her niqab.

Salam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal identified the woman as Naamah.

Naamah, who was formerly a pharmacist in Egypt,  immigrated to Quebec and is a permanent resident. She was taking a French class at CÉGEP St–Laurent.

Elmenyawi said Naamah chooses to wear the niqab, which covers her head, neck and face except for her eyes. While he said he wanted to avoid generalizing, a woman may wear a niqab for modesty, as interpreted by some Muslims in the Islamic sacred text, the Qur’an.

Elmenyawi said Naamah’s female teacher accommodated her, including seating her at the front of the class so male students could not see her face when she lifted the niqab to answer questions. He said when Quebec’s immigration officials visited, the college asked her to remove the niqab and she refused.

Luc Fortin, a representative for the Quebec Immigration Minister Yolande James, said the ministry only became involved when the concerns of Naamah’s teacher reached them through her superiors.

“The student has received a letter telling her that she has to remove her niqab or she has to leave the classroom,” he said.

He said the niqab hinders the evaluation of oral exercises and presentations where students must stand and face the class.

“We have to see the lips when we speak and the teacher has to evaluate pronunciation,” Fortin said.

A college has the right to tell a student to remove a niqab because it is a barrier to learning a language and Naamah’s cultural integration, said Julius Grey, a civil rights lawyer.

In 2006, Grey successfully defended a Sikh boy’s right to bring his ceremonial dagger, a kirpan, to his Montreal school. But a kirpan is not a barrier to communication, Grey said.

“I’m certain you can accommodate the hijab [the head scarf worn by some Muslim women] and the kirpan or turbans, but covering the face prevents you from integrating,” Grey said.

Elmenyawi said the niqab did not prevent Naamah’s integration any more than the surgical masks people wore during the H1N1 flu epidemic.

Elmenyawi said the real issue is not about the niqab, but the lack of communication between the college and Naamah. He called James’ involvement “an overreaction” andsaid expulsion was unnecessary.

Naamah left the college and filed a complaint against the MCM’s recommendation.

“We did advise [Naamah] not to file a complaint and try other compromises,” Elmenyawi said.

Naamah does have alternatives, such as online French courses, Fortin said.

The commission is currently deciding whether or not to allow the case to go to a Human Rights tribunal.

Although this is the first commission on the right to wear a niqab, Grey doubts it will set a significant precedent because of the small number of women wearing the niqab in Quebec.

He said while it would be serious to stop the hijab, the niqab “is not very significant statistically.”

Elmenyawi also said there are only about two dozen women wearing niqabs in Quebec.

“Newcomers to Quebec have to integrate into Quebec society,” Fortin said.

“It is essential for Canadian society and immigrants to adjust to each other,” Grey said

Elmenyawi said it is clear Naamah wanted to become part of Quebec’s society as she tried to learn French.

“This woman wanted to be integrated into society,” he said.