Mosque calls for action after they say intruder made racist threats during childrens’ class

The board of directors of a downtown Hamilton mosque is calling on governments to “take action on Islamophobia,” after they say an intruder made “racist and threatening” statements in the mosque last week.

“This has terrorized the teachers and students,” they said. 

In a statement posted on social media on Saturday, the board wrote that on June 14, someone came to a community hall in which students were taking a gym class. They said a staff member asked the person, who also ripped a copy of the Quran in half, to leave.

The board said community members called police who made the person leave.

Police have not said if they charged the intruder

Hamilton police issued a statement on Saturday saying they received a call from the mosque at about 12:40 p.m. and sent officers who removed a male from the property “without incident.”

“We are working closely with the mosque and community to better understand what happened as there are conflicting reports. The investigation is ongoing and it is too early to determine what took place,” the statement read.

CBC Hamilton asked police if they could say what investigators believe happened, and if anyone was charged as a result of the incident. They did not respond before publication.  

CBC also reached out to the Downtown Mosque but did not hear back. 

Incident is ‘unacceptable,’ National Council of Canadian Muslims says

Muslims have been celebrating Eid al-Adha, a holiday often called the Festival of Sacrifice, which traditionally involves coming together and sharing meals.

In a post on social media site X, the National Council of Canadian Muslims called the incident “completely outrageous and unacceptable.”

“We expect every political leader to raise their voice in solidarity and a commitment to take action — now, before more folks get hurt,” they said.

Also on X, Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combatting Islamophobia, called the incident “heartbreaking,” saying: “All children deserve safety.”  

“I’m upset and I’m disappointed to hear about this disturbing incident today at the Hamilton Downtown Islamic School,” Mayor Andrea Horwath said on X Friday. “Any act of hate is completely unacceptable and will simply not be tolerated.”

Hamilton has seen increasing Islamophobia, police and community members say

Police have not said if they classified Friday’s incident as a hate crime, but community members and police have said hate is on the rise.

In 2023, police reported about 26 per cent more hate incidents and crimes than the year before, logging 79 crimes and 141 incidents. Police define hate crimes as criminal offences motivated wholly or in part by bias or prejudice based on the victim’s identity. They define hate incidents as events that can’t be proven to be hate-motivated, but include a “hateful overtone.”

The war in Gaza led to more hate against people who are Muslim and people who are Jewish, police said.

Members of the Jewish community were targeted in 44 hate crimes or incidents in 2023, followed by members of the Muslim community, which were targeted 15 times.

In 2022, police reported 42 incidences targeting Jewish people in Hamilton, and five targeting people who are Muslim.

Other Canadian communities are also dealing with hate. In London, Ont., the community recently called for action following an allegedly hate-motivated arson attack at a Muslim family’s home.

In Hamilton, initiatives including Salam Hamilton have sought to raise awareness about the Muslim community, in part to stand against Islamophobia.

Javid Mirza, president of the Muslim Association of Hamilton (MAH), previously told CBC Hamilton one of the best ways to fight hate is for people to get to know their neighbours.

“People who do hate-motivated crap are all cowards,” he said, but if people get to know one another, they’re less likely to do each other harm, even if they do fundamentally disagree.

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