A violent attack has occurred in a local mosque in Mississauga.
While talking about the attack, Ibrahim Hindy, Imam of the Dar Al Tawheed Islamic Centre, said worshippers heard the noise of a man that was emptying bear spray all over them when they were praying the dawn prayer recently.
He said: “They turned around and saw this man had an axe in his hand and he was spraying them with [bear spray]. It seemed like he wanted to spray everyone and create like a cloud before he attacked them.”
Hindy added that the attacker was quickly overpowered by those at the mosque.
Hindy noted that one of those who stopped the suspect was a 19-year-old young man who “was able to push him down and then they were able to pin the attacker down and hold him down until the police were able to arrive.”
Hindy further stated that no one was severely injured but many people were still feeling the effects of the bear spray.
A statement issued by Local Police in the Peel region of Ontario, Canada, said: “Officers from 12 Division have arrested a Mississauga man responsible for a possible hate-motivated crime that occurred at a Mosque in the City of Mississauga.”
The Police added that around 1100GMT (7 AM local time), “a man walked into the Mosque and discharged bear spray towards the members of the Mosque while brandishing a hatchet. The members of the Mosque quickly subdued the man until police arrived.”
According to the police report, the investigation of the incident is ongoing.
While responding to a question on the increasing anti-Muslim sentiment in Canada, Hindy said: “There’s no question that’s on our minds.
“Islamophobia is real. We know that…unfortunately, it’s in this country as well.”
Hindy asked Canadian officials to provide more added protection for places of worship, as there have been many violent incidents in recent times.
He said: “We need added protection at places of worship. We need more law enforcement ensuring that there’s protection for people who are going to worship and we want politicians to be enlightened to the dangers of hatred and Islamophobia and mental health issues that exist in this country. It’s for them to try to tackle that comprehensively.”
In the same vein, the National Council of Canadian Muslims issued a statement regarding the incident saying: “Our community will never be broken and we refuse to be intimidated.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the attack as “incredibly disturbing” and “strongly condemned” it.
Trudeau said: “I strongly condemn this violence – which has no place in Canada – and I’m keeping the community in my thoughts today. I also want to applaud the courage of those who were there this morning.”
