Officials at Markham, Ont. mosque call for government action after alleged attack

By Canadian Press

Published: April 10, 2023 at 7:40 PM

mosque toronto Mufti Zeeshan Kasimuddin (centre left) stands outside the Islamic Society of Markham alongside community members and police officers following a news conference, in Markham, Ont. on Monday, April 10, 2023. Police and members of the Islamic community provided updates on the recent incident in which a man allegedly drove a vehicle directly toward a worshipper at a Markham mosque, yelled threats, and uttered racial slurs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Officials at a mosque north of Toronto are calling on the provincial and federal governments to take action after an alleged hatemotivated attack took place there last week.

Officials at a mosque north of Toronto are calling on the provincial and federal governments to take action after an alleged hate-motivated attack took place there last week.

The president of the Islamic Society of Markham wants to see Ontario pass legislation that would, among other proposals, expand educational resources that challenge Islamophobia and create a provincial hate crimes watchdog to review those types of investigations.

Speaking at news conference this afternoon, Qasir Nasir Khan also called on the federal government to address wait times for a program offering money for security upgrades at places of worhship, and to expand that program to include costs for third-party security.

York Regional Police are investigating the incident at the Islamic Society of Markham, which police say took place just after dawn prayers on Thursday during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

They allege a 28-year-old man came to the mosque in Markham, Ont., shouted Islamophobic slurs and drove his vehicle directly at a worshiper.

He is charged with one count each of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.