Members of Winnipeg’s Muslim community say they are “deeply shaken” after bullet holes were discovered in the windows of a mosque that was targeted while worshippers were inside on the night of Wednesday, July 29.
“We often believe that incidents like this will not happen to us,” said Feisal Adem, director and imam at Rahma Islamic Centre, speaking during a news conference on Thursday evening at the mosque on Watt Street.
Adem became emotional as he described “the frightening reality” that major incidents of Islamophobia — including the deadly 2017 attack on a mosque in Quebec City and the 2021 truck attack that killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario — could also occur in Winnipeg.
“The peace and sense of security that our members once felt have been deeply shaken by this incident,” he said.
Community leaders reported that, in the latest in a series of attacks targeting Muslims in Canada, two individuals drove past the northeast Winnipeg mosque on Wednesday night and fired shots at the building. Later the same night, two individuals on foot allegedly struck the mosque’s exterior with what appeared to be a blunt object, breaking windows. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a non-profit organization advocating for civil liberties and human rights, said the latter incident was captured on security cameras.
No injuries were reported.
Winnipeg police said officers on patrol observed freshly broken windows at the mosque at around 11:30 p.m. Following an investigation, authorities determined that a firearm “was potentially discharged” at the building, after which the suspects on foot caused further damage.
Police added that, prior to the attacks, the same individuals had reportedly passed by the mosque earlier that evening and shouted racist remarks at those present, according to a news release issued on Thursday.
Kadar Ahmed, president of Masjid Bilal, also known as the Winnipeg Islamic Centre, said mosques should be safe spaces for prayer, family gatherings and community life.
“There should be no hatred in Manitoba. We are strong in Manitoba,” he said at the news conference.
“If you mess with Manitoba people or Winnipeg people, you are messing with the wrong people.”
Speakers also highlighted other recent incidents targeting Winnipeg’s Muslim community, including smashed windows at Habibiz Café, a Middle Eastern restaurant on Portage Avenue, in January. Days later, a swastika was found spray-painted on the Abu Bakr Al-Siddique mosque and community centre.
By Tamilla Hasanova
