Anti-Muslim Bullying on Rise in Canada

Reports of anti-Muslim harassment in Canada have risen, Muslim organizations say, after attacks last week in which two soldiers were killed by people authorities say were inspired by the militant group Islamic State.

 The National Council of Canadian Muslims said it has seen a tenfold increase in reports of harassment, including racial slurs on public buses, notes left on car windshields and bullying at schools, Reuters reported.

"There are some very positive signs that we’ve noticed in the form of calls of support and examples of people resisting bigotry," said Amy Awad, the group’s human rights coordinator. "But there has been a large increase in complaints, too."
She said a normal volume of reports of anti-Muslim incidents nationwide is about five a week. "That has gone up about tenfold, with a real surge in the past few days," she said.
Last week, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed the Parliament building purportedly in the name of Islam after killing soldier Nathan Cirillo, 24, at the War Memorial.
The shooting followed the incident in which Martin Couture-Rouleau, who had reverted to Islam last year and took the name Ahmad Rouleau, rammed his car into two Canadian Forces members.
Anti-Muslim bullying increased despite immediate condemnation from several Canadian Muslim groups for the attacks, which came as Canada sent warplanes to take part in air strikes against the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIL) in Iraq.
Adil Charkaoui, coordinator of the Quebec Collective Against Islamophobia, said his group has received 30 complaints of harassment since last week. It marked the largest number of complaints the group has collected since a failed attempt earlier this year by the province's former government to enact a charter that would ban religious headgears, he said.
"Since the end of the episode with the Charter of Values we have received very few complaints," said Charkaoui, a Moroccan-born Canadian citizen. "With these tragic events, it has all started again."
Imam Syed Soharwardy, founder of Muslims Against Violence in Calgary, said he has also received a flurry of recent complaints, but said they were minor.
"Yes, there has been a backlash, but the overwhelming majority of Canadians are civilized and tolerant," he said. "We've seen a number of examples of that."
In Cold Lake, Alberta, residents last week banded together to clean and repair a mosque that had been vandalized. After scrubbing away the spray-painted words "Go Home," the volunteers taped up a sign saying: "You are home."