The Canadian Council of Imams is grieved by the heinous shootings at multiple New Zealand Mosques. Our prayers go out to the victims, their families and the people of New Zealand during this terrible tragedy.
As we witnessed in the aftermath of the Quebec Mosque Shooting, attacks against places of worship are especially sinister and represent an attack against an entire community’s consciousness.
We urge our Islamic organizations, Imams and all Muslim leaders to contact their local police to request greater security presence during Friday prayers and to remain vigilant against any potential security threats.
We also call upon elected officials to pursue a strategy against online hate speech and online hate platforms, which has contributed to this and other similar attacks, so that Canadians can be protected from hate speech and incitement.
We pray for the safety of all our brothers and sisters and our hearts and prayers with those in New Zealand. May Allah protect everyone.
