Toronto
(May 19, 2020) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) has called
on a Toronto-area mosque to publicly denounce antisemitic remarks
broadcast on its property over the weekend.
A man using a
loudspeaker at the Jaffari Centre, a Shia mosque in Thornhill, recited
the Islamic call to prayer and instructed followers to boycott “all the
Zionist businesses,” claiming that it is “illegal” and “forbidden” for
Muslims to do business with “Zionists.” He also stated that the mosque
and its followers stood with him against the “illegitimate Zionist
regime,” the “betrayal of the holy land,” and “whatever kind of evil
things they [the Jews/Zionists] do.”
In a statement released
Sunday, the Jaffari Centre stated that this man broadcast his prayer
from their property without their authorization. However, they offered
no direct comment regarding the substance of the man’s remarks.
In
a letter written to Jaffari Centre Vice President Shafiq Ebrahim, FSWC
called on the mosque to make a clear public statement that the remarks
broadcast from their property were unacceptable. “We are asking you to
publicly denounce this man’s words as well as his effort to defame our
community and yours with his vile and antisemitic message. We hope you
will join us in sending a clear message that hate will not be tolerated
by our communities and has no place in our country.”
