Montreal City Hall removing welcome sign with hijab sends wrong message: Muslim group [Video]

A national Muslim advocacy group says Montreal would send the wrong message if it takes down a welcome sign in the lobby at city hall that generated controversy because it included a woman wearing a hijab.

Stephen Brown, chief executive of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said Wednesday his organization was surprised and disappointed by the city’s decision.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante told a television talk show that aired on Sunday that the artwork depicting a woman wearing a headscarf would be removed in the name of secularism, adding that it made some people feel uncomfortable.

The image, in the style of a pencil sketch, shows the woman standing between two men — a younger man wearing a baseball cap and an older man with his hands crossed — with the words “Welcome to Montreal City Hall!” in French above them.

“This poster represents Montrealers — not a religious person or a secular person,” Brown said, adding …