Fundraiser dedicated to mosque worker
Drive-thru dinner event supports Table of Mercy
A Rexdale mosque food hamper fundraiser Saturday to lift up people of all faiths and backgrounds hurt by the pandemic is being dedicated to one of its caretakers killed outside the mosque.
Table of Mercy operates out of International Muslims Organization of Toronto (IMO) mosque and distributes approximately 400 non-perishable food hampers monthly to families in need by either COVIDsafe curbside pickup or delivery.
Table of Mercy is hosting a drive-thru fundraising dinner Saturday with all proceeds supporting the food hamper project. Meal pickups are from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at IMO at 65 Rexdale Blvd., or by delivery.
The fundraiser is in memory of Mohamed-Aslim Zafis, the 58-year-old father stabbed to death on Sept. 12 as he sat outside the doors of the mosque. The caretaker was ensuring those who entered followed COVID-19 health protocols.
“Mohamed’s special task, he wanted to be the leader in ensuring everyone who enters the mosque meets the pandemic protocols and health requirements by wearing a mask and properly sanitizing,” IMO president Omar Farouk said.
“It was so refreshing and fulfilling for someone like Mohamed to come forward and ask for that specific responsibility. During hamper preparations and between services at IMO, he would jump up and do whatever he could.” Guilherme “William” Von Neutegem, 34, was charged with first-degree murder in Zafis’s death. Hours after his arrest, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network said several social media accounts with the same name and location as Von Neutegem displayed links to a neoNazi occult ideology that instructs believers to commit murder.
Toronto police said earlier they have not ruled out investigating the homicide as hatemotivated.
Since Zafis’s killing, the mosque holds only two Jum’ah or Friday prayers because “people
still have fears coming later in the evening,” Farouk said.
People of all faiths attended Zafis’s funeral, at which Table of Mercy Hindu pundits, Christian pastors and Jewish rabbis spoke, said Habeeb Alli, community development manager with Muslim Food Bank and chaplain at a prison in Kingston, Ont.
“He was a loving person,” Alli said of Zafis. “All these months, he was an integral part of the Table of Mercy: accepting donations, packing donations, going out with the bags.”
A halal meal of jerk chicken and fried rice or a vegetarian meal of fried rice and vegetables can be purchased at the fundraiser, prepared and packed by Caribbean Cuisine Delight at Sheridan Mall. Meals are $20 and may be ordered online at
ventbrite.ca by searching “fundraising dinner drive-thru Table of Mercy” or by calling Habeeb Alli at 416-823-1738.