Surrey mosque fears escalation after weekend vandalism
Posted September 3, 2026 7:26 am.
A morning that was meant for prayer quickly shifted into an anxious call to the police after members of a Surrey mosque found pieces of raw bacon and a threatening message outside their place of worship.
Police say the incident happened sometime overnight last Friday and they have yet to make any arrests.
Meanwhile, the Muslim community at Fleetwood Islamic Centre is counting on increased security out of fear for their own safety.
“It does affect us emotionally, for the community, the families, individuals,” said Asif Ali, general secretary for the Fleetwood Islamic Academy Society.
“It is something that everyone is scared about.”
Police have released a photo of a male suspect wearing a dark green hoodie, red shoes, and driving a white sedan.
Ali says this is the first time that anything like this has happened at this mosque, but he fears there is a troubling national trend of hate towards Muslims.
Steven Zhou, spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, says these Islamaphobic acts have nearly tripled in Canada this summer.
“It’s been almost a daily occurrence across the country,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen it in Vancouver and Surrey as well.”
Zhou says the placement of raw bacon on the doors and windows is disturbing and an “obvious act of intimidation.” He says he’s worried about escalating threats or potential violence given the history in Canada.
“It’s reminiscent, for instance, of the pig’s head that was thrown outside of the Quebec City Mosque, leading up to the 2017 shooting.”
Officials were quick to publicly offer their condolences, with Attorney General Nikki Sharma, Premier David Eby, and Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke all condemning any acts of Islamophobia.
Zhou is calling for more government support.
“We want to sit down with elected officials and community members to hammer out a national strategy to beat back this kind of wave of anti-Muslim incidents,” he said.
The congregation at this Surrey mosque is hoping to get back to normal. When asked if he could speak directly to the people responsible for the vandalism, Ali said that, at the end of the day, we’re all Canadian.
“We have no place for such hate,” he said.
“We all want to live together peacefully in harmony, help each other out, and look after each other.”
