How A Canadian Community Stood Up To Hate: Townsfolk Help Clean Up Vandalized Mosque
When Canadian Muslim Mahmoud El-Kadri went to his Cold Lake, Alberta Mosque for prayers Friday morning, he found his house of worship vandalized with a brick thrown through a window, and the words “Go home” spray-painted above the door. What happened afterwards brought him to tears.
Mr. El-Kadri, who has lived in Canada since 1996, told the Cold Lake Sun that the mosque vandalism was painful, but it was the implication that he needs to “go home” that hurt the most.
“The writing hurts. This is my home, This is our home. My kids were born here. They go to school here. Cold Lake is our home. Canada is our home.”
Canada is his home, indeed. When word of the mosque vandalism got out, the people of Cold Lake came out as a community to let Mr. El-Kadri know that hate is not welcome in their town, bringing buckets of soap and water to wash away the spray paint, and craftsmen offered to repair the vandalized windows for free, according to Global News.
Kelly Ross, who owns a business near the vandalized Mosque, tells how quickly the community responded.
“People were coming off the street [asking] ‘can I donate money to help fix the window?’ ‘Can I donate my services? And once we go the buckets, everyone just started coming. We didn’t even ask. We didn’t even have to ask.”
Cold Lake mayor Craig Copeland tells Global News that hatred and bigotry are not what his community is about.
“Just what’s spray painted on the mosque, I mean, ‘go home’… The Muslim community here is at home here in Cold Lake. It by no means represents Cold Lake. Some individuals took it upon themselves to do this.”
Dear members of #ColdLake mosque: please know cowardly vandals do NOT speak for Canadians. #tolerance #diversity
— Kristen Ridley (@KristenRidley) October 24, 2014
Alright, Cold Lake, this is your time to shine. Repaint that mosque. Today. Completely unacceptable. — Jennifer Salahub (@jennifersalahub) October 24, 2014
Earlier this week, a gunman described as a “radicalized Muslim” opened fire in Canada’s Parliament building, killing a Canadian soldier, according to this Inquisitr report. Cold Lake is home to a military base, and some Canadian personnel and equipment have joined in the ongoing fight against Islamist extremists in the Middle East, according to The Star. As of this post, it is not clear if the mosque vandalism is related to either of these events.
As for Mr. El-Kadri, he says that the love and generosity made him forget, at least for a while, about the vandalism at his mosque.
“When I came this morning and I felt the support of Cold Lake, I really forgot what happened. I forgot the windows, I forget about the writing… It made me feel like I am one of the Cold Lake people.”
As of this post, there are no suspects in the mosque vandalism, although nearby businesses may have surveillance footage that could help police identify a suspect.
[Image courtesy of: Cold Lake Sun]
