Muslims Feel Unsupported After Pro-Palestinian Rally Confrontation in Canada
The rally took place at the B.C. Legislature on Dec. 2, amid the ongoing Israeli offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 18,000 Palestinians.
Shawn Ullah, from the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said the incident was motivated by Islamophobia and scared the whole community.
“Had it been a Muslim person driving that car, this would be in Parliament right now,” he said, adding there would have been an outpouring of outrage instead of virtual silence, especially from political leadership. “It would be all over the news other than a tweet from the premier.”
Ullah said the young man who was confronted by the driver was a student who was traumatized by the incident. He said the student was having flashbacks and fears of being attacked again, City News reported.
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Victoria Police arrested the driver after the incident. A video posted online showed the car driving onto the sidewalk on Belleville Street and almost hitting a pedestrian.
The driver then got out of the car and argued with one of the protesters, while others shouted at him to “back off”. A police officer intervened and tried to defuse the situation.
The human rights commissioner of British Columbia said last month that the war in Gaza had sparked an increase in violence and discrimination against both Jews and Muslims in the province.
Source: Agencies
