Pierre Hurteau

The endless waves of migrants that have swept across Europe and North America have led several countries to tighten border controls and tighten immigration criteria. How, moreover, can we ignore the human distress of millions of migrants fleeing war, persecution or food insecurity? How can we reconcile the compelling obligation to help strangers in need with the legitimate and essential need to build a " place to call home "? Therein lies the paradox of hospitality. This book examines how the religious canon, particularly the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" - deals with the tension created by the two polarities of the hospitality paradox. The Quebec model of interculturalism is presented as satisfying the dual requirements of hospitality: equal respect for the host's " homeland " and the guest's alterity.

The display of religious symbols in public spaces has been controversial in Europe for the past twenty years. The debate moved to Quebec some ten years ago. At the heart of the controversy, the hijab or headscarf has stirred passions that have led to heated social tensions. For some people, it is a vehicle for expressing their faith; for others, it symbolizes the oppression of women and is often associated with fundamentalism and the rise of a more radical Islam that fights against Western democratic values. Is secularism the solution to these issues?