Vandals Target Moncton Mosque with Islamophobic Graffiti
Ali Ettarnishi, president of the Moncton Muslim Association, said the incident was disappointing and made the community feel less safe. He said it was the second time something like this had happened this year.
“I know this doesn't represent the community or the value of the city of Moncton, but at the same time, we want to take this seriously and act on it,” Ettarnishi said.
He said he was hoping for increased patrols from police in the coming days for reassurance.
“We want to take this one very seriously and we want safety for everyone," Ettarnishi said. "Moncton is a safe city, but you never know."
The vandalism on the outside of the Moncton Masjid telling Muslims to "go home" was discovered by a community member who had come in early in the morning for prayers, he said.
“We don’t want this to happen to any other mosque, or synagogue or church,” he said.
Cpl. Luc Picard with Codiac Regional RCMP confirmed in an email that police are investigating but declined an interview, citing the investigation. He said the graffiti “appears to be Islamaphobic in nature.”
“The RCMP takes all reports of hate‑motivated incidents and crimes targeting individuals or communities very seriously,” Picard wrote. He asked anyone with information that could assist the investigation to contact the RCMP.
Ettarnishi said the mosque has been in the city for about 25 years. Its programs have included serving breakfast to homeless people and putting on open mosque events, where people can come and ask questions to learn more about Islam.
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Ettarnishi said the community of worshippers at the mosque is made up of people who came to Canada from 14 different countries.
“So go home, this is home,” he said.
Omer Ugurel, a mosque member originally from Turkey who has been in Canada for 26 years, said “We accept Canada as our home” because many members have lived here for so long.
“These are not tolerable actions, not just only for Muslims, for all of the religions,” he said.
Ketan Reval of Moncton Cares, a group that works to welcome newcomers, said he worries how the incident could affect peoples’ sense of safety.
“We put a lot of efforts on creating a sense of belonging here, and we try to integrate these communities into Moncton,” Reval said.
An incident like this undermines the efforts to bring everyone together, he said.
“It just adds more stress into their challenging life when they are trying to settle in a completely new country.”
Source: cbc.ca
