Toronto
\nToronto police hate crimes unit is probing after video surfaced online of a mobile advertising truck displaying extremely hateful anti-Muslim digital images and messages.
\n\u201cIn videos posted to social media, the truck appears to display a series of questions that say: \u201cIs this Lebanon? Is this Yemen? Is this Syria? Is this Iraq?\u201d
\nThe messages on the truck then say: \u201cNo. This is Canada. Wake up Canada. You are under siege.\u201d
\nThe truck then displays images of what appears to be Muslims praying and protesting in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. Palestinian flags and the square\u2019s concrete arches are visible in the images. The lettering is in blue on a white background and clearly visible from several metres away.
\nPolice stance
\n\u201cWe recognize the community\u2019s concern about a truck displaying Islamophobic messaging in Toronto,\u201d police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
\nAmira Elghawaby, Canada\u2019s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said in an interview on Wednesday that she was surprised and disappointed when she heard about the messaging on the truck and believes it should be condemned widely.
\n\u201cThis type of messaging really does send quite an unfortunate message of division and hate. Sadly, Islamophobia and now anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Arab racism, these are not new phenomena. The forms that they can take can differ. What is most alarming, of course, is when they lead to Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018This needs to stop now\u2019
\nIn a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, Elghawaby said she spoke to Toronto police\u2019s Muslim liaison officers to let them know she received several reports from Toronto residents expressing \u201cdeep concern, fear and anxiety\u201d about the truck.
\n\u201cThis clear incitement to hate Muslims is deeply worrisome given the ongoing violence that our communities continue to experience, including most recently an arson in London, Ontario, as well as physical assaults of visibly Muslim women in Scarborough, Halifax, Ottawa, and elsewhere,\u201d Elghawaby said earlier on X.
\n\u201cWe do not want to see another Quebec mosque massacre, or Our London Family attack. We have already lost too many of our community members to deadly Islamophobic hate.\u201d
\nThe National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a non-profit organization that describes itself as a \u201cleading voice for Muslim civic engagement,\u201d said in a post on X Tuesday that the messaging on the truck is designed to incite a fear of Muslims in Canada.
\n\u201cThis is extremely dangerous messaging, and should not be condoned. We have seen Islamophobic hate kill in Canada, including in Ontario,\u201d the NCCM said.
\n\u201cThis public campaign is pure Islamophobia and hate,\u201d the NCCM continued.
\n\u201cWe are expecting all of our leaders to condemn this form of hate in Toronto. This needs to stop now.\u201d
\nThe city, for its part, said in a statement on Wednesday that it opposes all forms of hate.
\n\u201cThe City of Toronto will not tolerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment and is committed to promoting respectful conduct, tolerance and inclusion,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cThe City of Toronto remains committed to saying no to all forms of discrimination and racism.\u201d
\nThe city said its Toronto For All public education campaign focused on Islamophobia last summer to raise awareness and provide resources on how to be an ally.
\nIf residents see \u201chate graffiti,\u201d the city said it encourages them to report it to 311.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Toronto Toronto police hate crimes unit is probing after video surfaced online of a mobile advertising truck displaying extremely hateful anti-Muslim digital images and messages. \u201cIn videos posted to social media, the truck appears to display a series of questions that say: \u201cIs this Lebanon? Is this Yemen? Is this Syria? Is this Iraq?\u201d The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-413563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n