Support for mosque in Galt shows ‘how beautiful humanity is’
Neither police nor Ahmadiyya Muslim community labelling Wednesday’s vandalism a hate crime
CAMBRIDGE — Dressed in a reflective security vest, Javed Minhas sits at a small table in front of the Baitul Kareem Mosque with a bouquet of flowers, a notepad and a pen.
Taking a turn as a volunteer security guard, Minhas was kept busy Friday afternoon receiving smiles of encouragement and gestures of support from passersby. People wanted to stop in to express their sadness with the vandalism the community experienced on
Wednesday, and offer their support.
The notepad and pen were there to jot down the names and email addresses of those who came by. The leaders of the mosque wanted to be able to send out thank-you cards in the future.
“We want to give back, too,” Minhas said.
After the building on Elliot Street was entered and vandalized on Wednesday, the leadership at the mosque began having round-the-clock volunteers at the site to keep watch over the sacred space. The community of Ahmadiyya Muslims has been worshipping and gathering at the building since the mid 2000s.
Waterloo Regional Police said the investigation is ongoing and, as of Friday, no new information had been released.
Police have multiple teams investigating, including the hate unit, but officers haven’t labelled this as a crime that was motivated by hate.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community isn’t calling it a hatemotivated crime either.
“I’m hoping that this is not a hate crime,” Minhas said. He and other community members aren’t jumping to any conclusions or making any assumptions as to the motive behind this crime.
He said the community is
leaving the investigative work to the police.
The imam at the mosque, Fatir Ahmad, said the kindness of community members over the past few days has been delightful to see.
“Sometimes, it’s in dark times when you realize how beautiful humanity is and how many caring people there are,” he said.
Neighbours have come by to offer their support. Some have left flowers, some have offered money, one person brought by their tools and offered to help repair any damage. Local Muslim organizations have reached out to offer support along with other faith groups.
Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry dropped by the mosque on Thursday, as did nearby residents.
“The support has been really, really good,” Ahmad said. He said he hasn’t been able to read all of his emails with the number of people who have reached out.
In the original news release from Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Canada, the organization estimated the damage to the mosque to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Ahmad said he believes the actual amount is closer to $5,000.
He said his community is not making any assumptions when it comes to the motive behind the vandalism. He said everyone is trusting police to investigate and figure out if this was a break and enter, or if there was something more that drove this.
Fauzia Mazhar, executive director of the Coalition of Muslim Women of K-W, said it’s understandable that when people hear of this vandalism, especially so soon after the attack in London, and with the ongoing hate crime investigation in Hamilton, they automatically see the incident as a hate crime targeting Muslims.
“The community is on edge because we’re hearing about these incidents every other day or every day, not only targeted towards the Muslim community, but also targeted towards other racialized minorities,” she said.
“So in that broader context, when something like this happens, of course our thoughts are going to go directly to hate as an intention for targeting a mosque.”
She said the community needs to hear timely updates whenever there are breaks in the investigation. These updates should come not only from police but from civic leaders as well, she said, as timely information can help put people’s fears at ease.