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A Muslim opens glass doors that were boarded up after being smashed along with 30 windows at a Toronto mosque. (Reuters)
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TORONTO – Canadian Muslims' fear of backlash
following the arrest of 17 people accused of plotting terrorist
attacks in Ontario gained more urgency after vandals smashed 30
windows of a Toronto mosque and damaged nearby cars.
"We are naturally shocked and dismayed,"
said Hamid Slimi, the mosque's imam.
In the early hours of Sunday, June 4, about 30
windows and the front door of the International Muslims Organization
of Toronto, which houses the mosque, were smashed.
About five cars in a parking lot next to the mosque
also had their windows broken.
The two-story mosque, one of the largest in North
America, sees about 500 worshipers daily.
"This could be a criminal act or a reaction to
the arrest of the 17 people," said imam Slimi.
On Friday, June 2, members of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) and partners of the country’s Integrated
National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) arrested 17 individuals on
terror charges.
The group comprised twelve adults, ranging in age
from 19 to 43, and five teenagers, most are Canadian citizens or
residents.
The suspects have been charged under Canadian
anti-terrorism laws but details of the charges were not likely to be
made public until a bail hearing Tuesday in Brampton, Ontario.
The twelve adults were sent to a high-security
prison outside Toronto while the five youths were dispatched to area
jails.
Backlash
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"Hatred in any form, and certainly in its expressions in violence and damage to property, will not be tolerated in our community," said Blair.
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In a meeting with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair
Sunday, Muslim minority leaders voiced concern about a backlash over
the arrests.
They worry about other potential vengeful attacks.
The police chief assured them that such acts of
hatred would not be tolerated.
"It is certainly possible that that damage was
motivated by hate. Hatred in any form, and certainly in its
expressions in violence and damage to property, will not be tolerated
in our community," Blair told a news conference after the
meeting.
"But we also need the support and cooperation
of the Muslim community and the greater community in ensuring that
expressions of anger, frustration, and hate do not result in any
danger to any member of our community," he said.
The police chief assured Muslims he has instructed
his force to reach out to the minority.
"I have directed my police officers to reach
out to all of the (Muslim) institutions in their jurisdictions and we
will be doing the same thing right across the Greater Toronto Area,
and there will be increased patrols in those area."
Shocked
Mohammad Alam, President of the Islamic Foundation
of Toronto, told the Sunday's news conference Muslims were shocked by
the arrests.
"We, as all Canadians, are shocked by the
recent arrests of young Muslim men and teenagers and the very serious
allegations against them," he said.
The Muslim leader stressed that the accused should
be presumed innocent until they have been tried.
"We remind ourselves and everyone else that
these accused have the right to be presumed innocent, until proven
otherwise."
Immediately after the arrests, the Council on
American-Islamic Relations CANADA (CAIR-CAN) issued a statement
expressing relief that security forces have averted potential
terrorist attacks in the province of Ontario.
It urged Canadian Muslims to cooperate with
security agencies to combat any terrorist or other criminal
activities.
The number of Canadian Muslims has increased
dramatically over the last decade, according to a national census.
Canadian Muslims make 1.9% of Canada's some 32.8
million people, according to the CIA online world facts book.
Islam has become the number one non-Christian faith
in Canada
