Warrant for imam over hate speech in Montreal

MONTREAL— An arrest warrant has been issued for a Jordanian imam who is accused of giving a sermon last December calling on Jews to be killed.

A Quebec judge signed off on the document last week for Moh’d Mousa Hussein Nasr, also known as Imam Sheikh Muhammad ibn Musa Al Nasr, who is not Canadian.

The Montreal police hate crimes unit investigated the sermon — which was allegedly delivered at a Montreal mosque in December 2016 — before the Crown authorized a charge against the cleric of wilful promotion of hatred.

Video of the sermon at Montreal’s Dar al-Arqam Mosque shows the accused calling the Jews the “worst of mankind” and hoping for their slaughter at the hands of Muslims.

It was posted and shared widely on YouTube, drawing criticism from Muslims and Jews alike when it was publicized earlier this year.

B’nai Brith Canada’s Michael Mostyn said he hopes federal authorities will do what they can to have the cleric returned to Canada to stand trial. His whereabouts is unknown.

“We would like to see the attorney general of Canada and any other federal agencies ensure that whatever country is currently hosting Al Nasr . . . that he be extradited to Canada to face justice,” Mostyn said.

The organization filed a police complaint earlier this year and pushed for more stringent enforcement of Canada’s hate crime laws.

“It is very important that individuals know even if they are not Canadian citizens or residents, if they come into this country and they preach hatred towards an identifiable group . . . Canada will not accept this and there will be consequences,” said Mostyn.

Acall to the mosque was not immediately returned Monday.