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Rabat – Worshippers in a mosque near Toronto were forced to subdue a 24-year-old man on Saturday who entered their mosque during prayer and attacked people with pepper spray, a Canadian newspaper has reported.
Approximately 20 men were praying at around 7 a.m. in the mosque when the man came in and assaulted them, Nadia Hasan, Director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims said in a press briefing on the same day.
The director said that “some of the men turned around and they very bravely decided that they were not going to let him attack them,″ adding that ”they tackled him to the ground and apprehended him until the police showed up.″
The suspect, Mohammad Moiz Omar was apprehended. Police have stated that they are investigating “all possible motives” for the incident, and charges are pending, according to Aljazeera.
According to police, the pepper spray caused minor injuries to the worshipers, but no one was seriously injured.
“People are obviously quite shaken up and are recovering,″ Hasan said. ”For the most part, folks are still processing what’s happened and are trying to kind of see how they can ensure that their communities remain secure.″
Police investigating the matter believe it was an isolated incident are considering hate as a possible motive, Canadian police said in a statement.
“I strongly condemn this violence – which has no place in Canada – and I’m keeping the community in my thoughts today,” tweeted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.
“Our community will never be broken and we refuse to be intimidated,” the imam Ibrahim Hindy tweeted, praising worshippers who subdued the alleged attacker.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Canada, like many other countries, enacted rigorous anti-terror legislation. Although the stated goal of this legislation was to keep all Canadians safe, Muslim Canadians experienced discrimination since the anti-terrorism act was implemented.
Read also: Islamophobia: Man Deliberately Kills Muslim Family in Canada
For the past two decades, Muslim Canadians have faced daily adversity while also witnessing more violent acts of Islamophobia. Muslim Canadians report being harassed and subjected to microaggressions on a regular basis at work, school, and in public places. Mosques and community centers have been attacked violently and many of them now require security.
In June in Ontario, a man driving a pick-up truck deliberately ran over a Canadian family of Pakistani origin, killing four people. Police said it was a case of Islamophobia.
In 2017, six worshippers were also shot dead and a dozen more were injured after a gunman opened fire on worshippers at a mosque in Quebec.
