Police investigation underway after Toronto mosque receives death threats
A police investigation is underway after a Toronto mosque received death threats on the weekend, prompting a response from the prime minister.
According to the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), on October 10, a downtown mosque — whose name will remain private to protect them from future attacks — was sent “violent messages.”
One of the messages alluded to doing a “Christ church all over again”— a reference to the 2019 shootings at two mosques in New Zealand which left 51 people dead.
Some of the message read, “The police will take our side. Islam will not defeat us. We have the guns to do a Christ church all over again in our office. We have…soldiers who have experience as snipers. F**k Islam!”
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“Enough is enough,” Mustafa Farooq, the CEO of NCCM, said in a statement on Monday.
“While we greatly appreciate the efforts of Toronto Police Service in conducting an investigation into this particular incident, we need action now from the federal government to develop a national action strategy on dismantling xenophobic groups that preach violent ideologies of hate and violence.”
“Today, we are dealing with threats to murder members of the Toronto Muslim community en masse. What more needs to happen before action is taken?” he added.
UPDATE: On Saturday, October 10, a downtown Toronto mosque (which NCCM will not be naming so as to protect them from further threats or attacks) was sent violent messages.
See our statement below. #DontLookAway pic.twitter.com/WWKeUeV1OH
— NCCM (@nccm) October 12, 2020
Mayor John Tory said that the threats “are completely unacceptable and will no be tolerated.”
“Any form of hatred and discrimination towards a place of worship and those who visit these places will not be accepting in our city.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also took to Twitter to say that he is “deeply disturbed by this threat.”
“Islamophobia and hate have no place in our country, and this kind of behavior and language will not be tolerated. We must do more to counter hatred and we will.”
I’m deeply disturbed by this threat. Islamophobia and hate have no place in our country, and this kind of behavior and language will not be tolerated. We must do more to counter hatred and we will. https://t.co/qAV0xYbkJ7
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 12, 2020
Last week, the NCCM sent an open letter to the prime minister, asking to establish a national action plan on dismantling white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.
The statement said that in 2015 there were 100 alt-right groups operating in the country and now there are over 300.
“While we recognize and appreciate that last year, two organizations affiliated with white supremacy were banned under the listing provisions of the Criminal Code, far more needs to be done,” the letter noted.
It was signed by over 20 groups and organizations.
Daily Hive has reached out to the Toronto Police Service for comment and will update accordingly.
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