Islam-themed graffiti stymies police
Red spray-painted graffiti predicting “Islam Will Rule The World” has been surfacing throughout Windsor’s west end and on the riverfront.
Jake Couvillion is concerned about the number of Islamic messages appearing throughout his neighbourhood. The graffiti has shown up on bus stops, on the wall of the Sandwich South Community Centre and even on a sign in front of the former Sutherland Building on College Street near McDonald’s. He said community groups have come out and painted over the graffiti only for it to reappear.
“I was seriously in shock when I saw it,” he said. “I have three children and to see those messages in my neighbourhood is just a little too close to home.”
On Saturday more graffiti was spotted on the paved walkways throughout Malden Park and on the downtown Riverfront trail. The messages say “#Islam Will Rule The World Hosea 4.6, #57 Muslim Nations, #Sharia Over the U.N.” They are all written in red spray paint and appear to have the same handwriting.
Hosea refers to a passage from the Bible known as God’s charge against Israel. Hosea 4.6 reads:
“Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has 57 member nations, while Sharia is Islamic law.
“I’ve called the police several times, I’ve given my name and I’ve even called anonymously to report it but they are not doing anything,” Couvillion said. “They say they are going to send a cruiser out but nothing gets done. The community has to clean it up and that’s pretty sad.”
Windsor police Staff Sgt. Ken Cribley said Windsor Police are aware of the Islam-themed graffiti.
He said police started getting calls about five weeks ago when the messages first started to appear around the west end. He suspects one or two individuals are responsible for the graffiti, given it’s all similar.
“We’ve been sending cruisers out and the officers have been taking pictures,” he said. “But unless someone is caught in the act it’s hard to find out who is responsible.”
Dr. Maher El-Masri, chair of the Windsor Islamic Council, said the graffiti messages are the work of a select few. He thinks it’s important for community members to come together to unite rather than divide.
“We shouldn’t ignore it and we should speak up against it,” he said. “But we shouldn’t make a bigger deal out of it than it is. It’s the few loud people that try to attract attention to their hate. So they shouldn’t be distracting us from where we live.”