Red swastika spray-painted on Edmonton mosque

EDMONTON (CityNews) – An Edmonton mosque located just off 98 Ave. N.W. has been vandalized with a swastika.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, one of Canada’s largest Muslim communities, took to social media posting images showing the Baitul Hadi Mosque with a spray-painted image of the Nazi symbol.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat is deeply concerned to learn that Baitul Hadi Mosque Edmonton was vandalized with a Swastika sign.
While healing from the grief of the attack on an innocent Muslim family in London, the congregation is saddened to see this symbol of hatred on their mosque. pic.twitter.com/pmIiu4aAfl

— AhmadiyyaCanada (@ahmadiyyacanada) June 16, 2021

In a statement, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama`at Canada said it is concerned to learn that the Baitul Hadi Mosque had been vandalized.

“We are deeply disturbed by the rising acts of violence against the Muslim community,” said Imam Nasir Butt. “This is not the way of Canadians, and we must work together to combat anti-Muslim sentiment.”

“Our Muslim Community, we believe in love and affection. Our logo and motto is love for all, hate for none. So it is very unfortunate, but we know that in our society we sometimes have people with different acts, and I think we should promote as much as possible to these ignorant people to have a love for everyone, despite colour and race and faith,” he added.

The vandalism comes two days after the Afzaal family were laid to rest in London, Ontario, and as Canadians are calling on the federal government to help in the fight against Islamophobia.

READ MORE: Islamophobia in Canada is getting worse. Will Canadians confront it?

“It has been reported that following the London attack, several other acts of vandalism and trespassing have taken place at mosques in different parts of Canada,” the statement added.

Edmonton police tell CityNews there was a string of graffiti in the area in April, all with the same colour of red spray paint.

Although police say there is no common theme between each act of vandalism, there is believed to be a connection.

“The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama`at Canada has built mosques across the country to build bridges with Canadians. These mosques serve as a source of community gathering, peace, acceptance and multiculturalism.”

Alberta has recently had other hate crime investigations take place, as multiple rural properties were flying flags bearing the swastika.

-with files from Laura Krause