The Islamic Society of Markham (ISM) said in a statement an individual had come into the mosque in Markham, 30 km north of Toronto, on Thursday and apparently torn a Koran, ranted at worshippers, and then tried to ram them with his vehicle.
"Deeply disturbed to hear of the
The question naturally becomes whether this was actually a vicious outsider or the much more common faked incident by a member of the congregation.
She did not give details of the incident but said: "This violence and Islamophobia
...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do...has no place in our communities."
Moslems see any attempt to damage a Koran as blasphemous because they consider the Islamic holy book to be the literal word of God.
The incident comes during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when worshippers throng to mosques. Thousands of people attend the mosque at Markham, the society said.
The National Council of Canadian Moslems said in a post on Twitter it was "greatly distressed" by the incident.
Police say a man is in jug after a suspected hate-motivated incident in which he allegedly drove a vehicle directly toward a worshipper at a Markham mosque, yelled threats, and uttered racial slurs.
A release issued by York Regional Police Sunday said Toronto resident Sharan Karunakaran, 28, was located and arrested shortly after midnight on Friday.
On Thursday, officers responded to a call for a disturbance at a mosque on Denison Street, the release states. Witnesses reported that a male suspect, now alleged to be Karunakaran, had attended the mosque in a vehicle and drove directly at one of the worshippers, yelling threats and religious slurs. The suspect drove dangerously in the parking lot before leaving the property, police said.
Karunakaran has been charged with one count of uttering threats, one count of assault with a weapon, and one count of dangerous driving. The charges have not been proven in court.
The accused was held for a bail hearing. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 11 in Newmarket, Ont.
A name search ofthe miscreant yielded this possible motivation:
Sharan KARUNAKARAN, 28, of Toronto, has been charged with a hate-motivated attack on a Mosque in Markham, Ontario.
— Gurpreet S. Sahota (@GurpreetSSahota) April 9, 2023
Radical Hindu outfits in Canada should be thoroughly investigated. @AryaCanada will you speak out against this? https://t.co/L7xsoIikAK
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