Islamophobia must be ongoing conversation, says advocate after Surrey mosque incident

Some members of the local Muslim community say they’re horrified, but not surprised following a disturbing incident at the Surrey Jamea Masjid this week.

On Wednesday night, which was one of the holiest of the month of Ramadan, known as Laylatul Qadr, a group of Muslims were standing outside the mosque at 124 Street and 72 Avenue when RCMP say someone in a moving car threw water on them. A few minutes later, police say they returned and tried to run someone down.

No one was physically hurt.

We are gravely concerned after an attack on worshippers close to a mosque in Surrey, BC.

In the aftermath of what happened in London, where an individual ran over a family with his vehicle, the incident with a car outside the mosque is gravely concerning. pic.twitter.com/KPK5MB5o7H

— NCCM (@nccm) April 28, 2022

“I really feel for that congregation or that individual that they had to have the sacred month shaken in this way by such a horrific hate crime and I think our entire community is feeling this. It’s a harsh reminder to us that Islamophobia continues to be a very serious thing here in Canada,” said Hasan Alam, the community liaison for the Islamophobia Legal Assistance Hotline.

There have been a number of high-profile anti-Muslim attacks in recent years in Canada, including a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City in January 2017 and a deadly attack on a family of five in London, Ont. in June 2021. In one of the most recent incidents, a machete-wielding attacker was subdued by worshippers in Mississauga last month.

“I think the concerning thing is this keeps happening and it’s getting worse. Here we are again talking about Islamophobia and I think that’s part of the problem,” Alam said. “We wait until incidents, such as this, to happen to talk about Islamophobia. We should be talking about it all the time because it is a serious problem in Canada and we shouldn’t just be talking about Islamophobia, we should be talking about the underlying root cause which is white supremacy and xenophobia.”

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He feels some people may not realize how serious Islamophobia is compared to some other racial issues currently playing out in the world.

“I think people realize the seriousness of it when a family of five is run over, when people are gunned down in their mosque the way that they were in Quebec, but … there are links between this and other incidents. We saw during the pandemic a spike in hate crimes against the East Asian community. We saw people talking about racism that people of Black descent have faced here in Canada and continue to face. I think there are real links here and we need to talk about these links. Again, it points to the fact that Canada has a problem with racism and white supremacy.”

The latest statistics from 2017 show an increase in police-reported hate crimes against Muslims in Canada. There was a jump to 349 cases — a 151 per cent increase — from the 139 cases recorded in 2016. However, Statistics Canada says about two-thirds of hate crimes across the country go unreported.

(Source: Islamophobia Legal Assistance Hotline)

‘Racism is a plague that we should all be concerned about’

Alam feels it may be easy for some people to ignore these issues, especially if it doesn’t affect them directly.

“When it’s not impacting you and you have the privilege of going through your life and not thinking about these things, then I think you can consciously or unconsciously ignore these issues. But I think the thing we really need to drive home is that it should matter to you. Racism is a plague that we should all be concerned about and if we as Canadians profess to stand for a society that is inclusive, that welcomes individuals, and values everyone for simply being a human being, then we should care about this.”

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Alam acknowledges these conversations can be difficult and there is no easy answer or solution.

“I do think that [we should be] talking about it in periods when it’s not ‘happening.’ Because let’s face it: Islamophobia is happening constantly, we just don’t talk about it. But I do think education is a big part of it. We need to institute a federal action plan around educating people about Islamophobia within our schools, which would happen at a provincial level; within our universities; within our governmental institutions; and we as individuals in our workplaces need to talk about it. The hope here is just as Islamophobia can be learned, it can also be unlearned.”

The Islamophobia Legal Assistance Hotline was created in B.C. in 2016. It’s a free service and Alam says the number of calls they see goes up and down, but he doesn’t doubt its need in the future.

Meantime, the National Council of Canadian Muslims wants the RCMP to investigate this as potentially hate-motivated and wants both the prime minister and B.C.’s premier to increase efforts to fight Islamaphobia.

https://twitter.com/jjhorgan/status/1519862126428319746?s=20&t=U7Zfo4NFdnN6nIucGblStg

Is this a hate crime?

With Eid celebrations fast approaching, Surrey RCMP says police patrols are being increased at all mosques in the city.

Despite having identified the driver, the motive remains unknown at this time.

“Further investigative steps are required in order to confirm that identity in order to be able to make an arrest. So, at this point in time, the investigation is still ongoing. Our General Investigation Unit has conduct and they are speaking with additional witnesses and reviewing video surveillance from the area,” said Cpl. Vanessa Munn with Surrey RCMP.

She adds it’s too early to call this is a hate crime investigation, but investigators say that is a possibility, as the motive hasn’t been determined.

“We are exploring the possibility it is hate-motivated but given we are in the early stages and we have not conclusively determined a motive, we are not able to say that at this time.”

Munn says it’s key to gather as much evidence, including dashcam footage. If you have information about this case, you’re asked to call Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.

With files from Nikitha Martins