Anti-Muslim incidents skyrocket across Canada, Muslim groups say

The president of the Canadian Muslim Forum said that the level of anti-Islamic hate crimes and intimidation reported since Oct. 7 has soared.

In his nearly 30 years as co-founder and then president of the Canadian Muslim Forum, Samer Majzoub said he has never seen the level of anti-Islamic hate crimes and intimidation reported since Oct. 7, Montreal Gazette reported.

The Canadian newspaper said in an article published on its official website that people have called in to report intimidation at their places of work, at schools and at universities.

It added that the cases of intimidation included drivers spitting at people from car windows and individuals being pushed or verbally abused.

Incidents are being reported across Canada, and Montreal police have tallied a growing number of hate-related crimes against both Islamic and Jewish targets in the last month.

In late October, a mosque at the Badr Islamic Centre in St-Léonard was spray-painted with a swastika and the message “Kill all Musulman”. Last Friday and Saturday, the Canadian Muslim Forum received reports of Muslim women being verbally attacked near mosques, Montreal Gazette said.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has recorded a 1,300 per cent increase in the number of hate incidents reported since Oct. 7, an advocacy officer with the organization said.

The council has received an average of eight complaints a day across Canada, with the majority of incidents happening in densely populated areas in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. Reports were fairly evenly spread across the provinces, the officer added.