Winnipeg police’s hate crimes unit is investigating after shots were fired at a city mosque while people were inside, an incident that has left members of the Muslim community “deeply shaken.”
Community leaders told reporters at a July 30 press conference that two people drove by and discharged a firearm in the direction of the mosque at the Rahma Islamic Centre in the northeast end of the city the previous evening.
“We often believe that incidents like this will not happen to us,” said Rahma Islamic Centre imam and director Feisal Adem. “The peace and sense of security that our members once felt has been deeply shaken by this incident.”
Officers discovered the suspected drive-by shooting while conducting their investigation, and believe the damage to the windows was caused by bullets, according to the release. Investigators said the suspect vehicle fled south on Watt Street after the shooting, but two individuals later arrived on foot and broke additional windows with an unknown object.
“Officers also learned that suspects had attended earlier in the evening and shouted racist comments towards patrons,” police said. “The WPS is treating the incident as a potential hate-motivated crime involving both property damage and the reported discharge of a firearm at a mosque.”
Winnipeg Islamic Centre president Kadar Ahmed and Manitoba Islamic Association Chair Hakim Ghulam, who both spoke at the press conference, said people should always feel safe at their place of worship.
“Let’s work together and respect and protect all the mosques, temples, churches, synagogues because we are one Manitoba,” Ghulam said.
Ahmed echoed the message, saying there should be “no hatred in Manitoba.”
“We are strong in Manitoba,” he said. “If you mess with Manitoba people or Winnipeg people, you are messing with the wrong people.”
Sadaf Ahmed, who serves as the government affairs and public policy officer for the National Council of Canadian Muslims in Manitoba, told reporters there has been an “escalation in violent Islamophobic incidents across our country” over the past month, which she described as an “alarming pattern.”
She called for “immediate and concrete action,” saying the incident at the Rahma Islamic Centre should be classified as a hate crime.
Officials Respond
Both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree made statements on social media.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also posted about the incident.
Manitoba Culture Minister Nellie Kennedy, who attended the press conference at the mosque, called on residents across the province to “choose respect.”
“As a government and as Manitobans, we choose unity, we choose respect, we choose compassion and we choose to stand up against hate wherever and whenever it appears,” she said.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said “no one should feel unsafe in a place of worship or community gathering.”
