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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
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