Press release, Montreal April 8, 2023
The Canadian Muslim Forum (FMC-CMF) expresses its strong dismay and condemnation of the hate crime that the Islamic Society of Markham was subject to. The Islamic Society of Markham (ISM) said in a statement on April 8 that an individual had come into the mosque in Markham, 30 km north of Toronto, on Thursday and apparently torn a Koran, ranted at worshippers, and then tried to ram them with his vehicle.
The FMC-CMF considers the reported hate crime to be one of the worst forms of hateful Islamophobia during the blessed month of Ramadan, which almost turned into a bloody terror in which innocent lives would have been lost.
In this regard, the FMC-CMF calls on the relevant authorities to deal with the crime firmly and quickly bringing the perpetrator to justice.
The Canadian Muslim Forum warns that cases of Islamophobia are remarkably on the rise in different areas of the country. Moreover, the status quo may lead to a state of societal tension that is harmful to our Canadian society at large.
-30-