Police investigating ‘concerning’ calls to Winnipeg Grand Mosque

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This article was published 27/09/2024 (389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City police are investigating “concerning” calls made to a city mosque.

Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said the Winnipeg Grand Mosque on Waverley Street received the calls Tuesday and reported the matter to the WPS.

McKinnon did not immediately know the details of what was said in the calls but told the Free Press on Friday officials at the mosque were “concerned” about the calls.

She added she did not know whether the comments were made on voicemail or to a person who picked up the phone, or how many calls were made.

McKinnon said the hate crimes section of the WPS major crimes unit is handling the investigation.

Fatema Abdalla, manager of communications for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said the calls were “very concerning” to mosque leaders.

She said she was unable to go into the specifics of the calls, but said the calls stated Muslims can’t be trusted because they are “traitors” to Canada.

The calls took place in the context of “rising Islamophobia” in Canada since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war, Abdalla said.

“It’s a larger issue that the country needs to address,” she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted about harassment at the mosque on social media on Friday.

“I’m angry to learn that women wearing hijabs were the target of a violent attack in London, and a mosque in Winnipeg was the target of hateful harassment,” Trudeau said on X, formerly Twitter. “Islamophobia kills. Whenever we see it, we’ll confront it — and we’ll work to keep our communities safe from it.”

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew also posted about the issue on X.

“Deeply troubled to hear of the hateful, Islamophobic harassment targeting a Winnipeg mosque. We condemn Islamophobia in all its forms. We are one Manitoba, and hate has no place in our province.”

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca