Category Archives: Canada

CAIR denounces arson attack on Vancouver mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR.CAN), a national Muslim civil liberties organization, today denounced the attempted arson of a mosque in Vancouver, B.C. on May 22nd.

According to officials at Masjid Omar al-Farooq, two alleged suspects attempted to set the exterior of their mosque on fire after congregants had finished early afternoon worship. The mosque’s Imam noticed the smoke and rushed outside to extinguish the flames. Local police are now investigating and will review the mosque’s security camera footage.

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PQ delays introduction of Charter of Secularism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Parti Quebecois government, already involved in a political battle to toughen the province’s language law, has placed another emotionally charged identity issue on the back burner.

The government has delayed its plan to set limits on religious accommodations until the fall and even begun referring to it in less contentious terms.

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Pamela Geller’s invitation to speak in Toronto angers Board of Rabbis

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Toronto Board of Rabbis criticized the Jewish Defense League of Canada for inviting Islam critic Pamela Geller to speak in the city.

The statement was issued just prior to Geller’s speaking engagement Monday sponsored by the group. She spoke at the Toronto Zionist Center without incident. A Chabad rabbi had uninvited Geller to speak at his suburban Toronto synagogue following intervention by police, forcing the change of venue.

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Toronto: synagogue cancels Geller appearance after police intervention

Posted on by Bob Pitt

JDL Geller adYork Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force’s chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

They expressed concern about an upcoming talk to be given by Pamela Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam. She protested past plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, and has posted anti-Jihad messages in that city’s subway system.

Subsequent to his meeting with police, Kaplan cancelled Geller’s May 13 talk, which was sponsored by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) – a hard-line advocacy group that had rented space in Kaplan’s synagogue for the event.

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Toronto police launch hate-crime investigation after assault on woman wearing hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Toronto hate-crime suspect
Security camera images of the man wanted in hate/bias assault investigation

Toronto police have launched a hate-crime investigation after a Muslim woman was spat upon last week outside a plaza in the city’s northeast, just hours after counterterrorism investigators dismantled a local al-Qaeda-linked plot to derail a Via passenger train.

The suspect also said something to the 18-year-old victim, who was wearing a hijab, but she could not understand him due to a language barrier, police said.

“Obviously there’s no motivation that we can determine other than the fact that the woman was wearing a hijab,” said Det.-Sgt. Jim Gotell of 33 Division, noting the victim had done “absolutely nothing” to provoke the assault, and there were no overt signs that the suspect suffered from a mental illness. “The only logical assumption we can make at this point in time is [it was] because she was wearing a hijab, and it was a hate crime.”

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Toronto jogger accused of assaulting, harassing pregnant woman wearing hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Shawn SableA Toronto man is facing charges after a pregnant woman was allegedly assaulted and harassed numerous times in midtown.

It was reported that the suspect was jogging along Yonge Street near Eglinton Avenue West when he veered towards the victim, who was wearing a hijab, struck her and uttered a comment before running off.

On a second occasion the same jogger struck the woman with both hands and continued to run south on Yonge.

Const. Wendy Drummond told the Canadian Press they believe the man may have targetted the woman because of her hijab.

It is alleged that he also criminally harassed her on five other occasions. The incidents occurred between Feb. 25 and Mar. 25.

Shawn Sable, 43, appeared in court on Monday and was charged with two counts of assault and one count of criminal harassment.

Police believe there may be more victims.

680 News, 25 March 2013

Ontario: hate crimes unit called in to investigate graffiti on mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Guelph mosque graffitiGuelph police have their hate crimes unit investigating after racial graffiti was discovered on a mosque.

Numerous spray-painted graffiti markings were discovered on the outside of the Guelph Muslim Society’s mosque at 286 Water Street early Wednesday. The graffiti was painted between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday. It contained derogatory references to Muslims along with inflammatory and threatening language.

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Islamophobia in Quebec

Posted on by Bob Pitt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vNvuI1ThZEQ

Quebec has the second largest Muslim population in Canada. The census bureau says about 200,000 Muslims live in Quebec. It is perhaps the fastest growing religion in Canada and is expected to triple within the next 20 years, but critics say with all of its diversity, Quebec is also perhaps one of the most Islamaphobic provinces in the country. The President of the Muslim Council of Montreal is setting the record straight.

Press TV, 3 February 2013