Islamophobic incidents up amid climate of fear: official
Expressions of Islamophobia in the province have risen in recent weeks, fuelled by racially charged rhetoric from the U.S., said a man helping operate a complaint hotline.
Edmonton Canadian-born Muslim Aurangzeb Qureshi said the community in Alberta is on edge following the ascension of U. S. President Donald Trump and Sunday’s massacre at a Quebec City mosque.
“It has gone up, there has been an increase in Islamophobic incidents,” said Qureshi of the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council (AMPAC).
“We have to remain vigilant.” Earlier this week, an Islamophobic letter was found affixed to the vehicle of a Palestinian-Canadian in Edmonton complaining about his parking skills while leaflets and posters attacking Muslims have emerged repeatedly in that city and Calgary.
Two months ago, a man was arrested after waving a noose at two Muslim woman at an Edmonton LRT station.
“Even when they seem innocuous, police and authorities need to take these small signs of Islamophobia seriously,” said Qureshi.
“We don’t want Quebec City to happen again ... complacency is not an option.”
The U. S. election campaign and the resulting presidency of Donald Trump, who’s slapped a travel ban on seven Muslim majority countries, has only added to a climate of fear the Muslim community in Alberta has felt for years, he said.
“We have a global leader on the world stage, the president of the U.S. who’s legitimizing this,” said Qureshi.
“But let’s not forget it’s affected all minorities in the U.S.”
On Friday in Calgary, tensions stemming from the Quebec City terrorist attack were felt in Calgary when Friday prayers at a northeast Islamic Centre and school at Barlow Tr. and 39 Ave. N.E. were confined to students and staff.
A letter from the Muslim Council of Calgary states “currently our kids’ safety is at stake as they are vulnerable soft targets.”
Based on advice from police “the Omar Bin-Al-Khattab School campus is closed to any outsiders to attend Friday prayer,” it adds.
Police arrived in force outside the centre when a group of worshippers showed up voicing anger over its lockdown.
Qureshi said he wouldn’t pass judgment on that decision but added it’s a reflection of a tense climate.
“People will seek means to pursue what they perceive to be safety — it’s the reality of our times,” he said.