Alberta politicians quickly denounced hate mail sent to an Edmonton mosque this week that told worshippers of Islam they “don’t belong here in Alberta.”
In the last few days, this hateful message was dropped at the Markaz Ul Islam, a beautiful mosque in Edmonton. We are shocked by the flagrant display of white supremacy that has now literally arrived on our doorsteps.<br>(1/3) <a href=”https://t.co/v6NpcdZtCT”>pic.twitter.com/v6NpcdZtCT</a>
—@Your_AMPAC
Faisal Suri, president of AMPAC, said the incident is disheartening and concerning.
“People do fear these things. It’s very close to the Quebec shooting incident — a lot of those things are in the heads of people. We’re not saying that that’s what this is. We’re saying people don’t know anything better. They’re quite heightened when somebody trespasses into a place of worship.”
In January 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette murdered six Muslim men after storming into a mosque in Quebec City. He is scheduled to be sentenced for the crime Thursday.
Less than two weeks ago, a pair of “suspicious men” walked into a different Edmonton mosque, one wearing a tuque with the word “infidel” written on it in Arabic. The incident was reported to police.
“These letters have happened before,” Suri said. “They are concerning.”
The hateful note left at Markaz Ul Islam Mosque in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yeg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yeg</a> shows the terrible hate & fear that can be spread by a small group who want to tear down our strong & diverse Alberta.<br>I stand with Muslim Albertans and all who oppose this hate.<br>We are stronger together.<a href=”https://twitter.com/Your_AMPAC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Your_AMPAC</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ableg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ableg</a>
—@RachelNotley
This hatred and bigotry has no place in our Alberta. All Albertans must be free to practice their faith in peace. <br><br>To the ignorant fool who sent this letter, you’d best look at my longstanding work in pluralistic outreach, including to Muslims. <a href=”https://t.co/4kBLncKtni”>https://t.co/4kBLncKtni</a>
—@jkenney
Edmonton police have confirmed the hate crimes and violent extremism unit is investigating the letter sent to Markaz-Ul-Islam.