I never prayed for the killing of Jews
I am scared to tell my story. I used to be able to speak freely. Now, I am scared that anything I say can be spliced, rearranged and twisted into something ugly that hurts people. I am scared that my own words will be used against me to make me seem like someone I am not. (Re “A Toronto imam was accused of hate-preaching against Jews. But that wasn’t the whole story,” Oct 22.)
My name is Ayman Elkasrawy. I was an assistant imam at Masjid Toronto, a downtown mosque that earlier this year became the focus of anti-Muslim rallies. I was also a teaching assistant at nearby Ryerson University, where I am completing my PhD in electrical engineering.
My life was pretty ordinary, until my name became synonymous with someone who advocated the killing of Jews. Only, I never said that. My words, spoken in Arabic, were videotaped during a supplication that I gave back in 2016. The videotape was spliced. My words were maliciously mistranslated. Words were put into my mouth and attributed to me that were not my own. A story was published about me on the (now dismantled) CIJ News website. And then, I became a pariah and the face of a smear campaign on and off campus. I will never forget the phone call that I received from a friend: “Did you pray for the killing of the Jews?” It was all over mainstream media — this avalanche of misinformation. And it kept coming for me.
The mosque suspended me. Ryerson University fired me. Politicians called me an extremist. Jewish groups condemned me. Muslim groups cut me loose. The climate of fear among Muslims was chill- ing. Just one month earlier, Alexandre Bissonette was charged with killing six men like me in Quebec City.
Our mosque and community leaders were afraid of aggravating the situation. No one would come to my aid. Few were even interested in my side of the story. I was radioactive — no one wanted to touch me. The damage was done. And the effects on my reputation and my life have been nothing short of devastating.
Immediately after I received that call, I could only think about my Jewish peers and friends and how hurt they must feel. The combined effect of the mistranslated video and my wrong choice of words magnified the pain of the Jewish community.
So I stand by my apology even though I knew then what everyone knows today, because experts have now confirmed that my words were twisted. I am grateful for those who looked hard at the facts, who sought the truth and who took the time to know what actually happened before rushing to judgment.
If only Ryerson University had looked closely at my translation of the words that I spoke before calling me into a meeting and summarily firing me, following pressure from powerful lobby groups. I had a side of the story to tell. If only people had listened at the time.
The mosque has reinstated me after months of investigation concluded that the reports of CIJ News, Rebel Media and others were not just false, but manufactured. While I am continuing in my studies at Ryerson, the university has yet to reinstate me to the jobs I held for years, or to apologize for what it did to compound the hateful assault on my reputation.
I have gained much from this ordeal besides the fundamental lessons in cultural sensitivity and communication clarity. I have walked away from this with new friends in the Jewish and Christian faith communities, including Bernie Farber, Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton, Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl and human right experts Dr. Karen Mock and Len Rudner. I am indebted to them for listening with an open heart and mind and showing me that the diversity of our great country allows for fellowship, dialogue and learning.
If you search my name, you may still see the fabricated video and lies. When you see them, remember, I am a cautionary tale.
There are those among us who seek to divide Canadians by spreading falsehoods. We must stand against these attempts and come together instead. We need to create space for us to be able to talk to each other, to seek to understand one another, rather than rushing to judgment.
In fact, we must stand together if we are going to combat Islamophobia and antiSemitism — two threats that remind us that there is more that unites us than divides. If only my name could be synonymous with that.
There are those among us who seek to divide Canadians by spreading falsehoods. We must stand against these attempts and come together
Ayman Elkasrawy is an assistant imam at Masjid Toronto and a PhD candidate in electrical engineering at Ryerson University.