A Calgary NDP candidate has apologized for posting a meme about jihadists and crusaders several years ago.

Joe Pimlott, who is running in Calgary-Peigan, posted on Twitter that he made a social media post that had “Islamophobic and anti-Semitic connotations” of which he said he was not aware.

The meme he posted showed a picture of a knight and the caption, “I’ll see your jihad and I’ll raise you one crusade.”

The Crusades were church-sanctioned religious wars that attempted to recover land from Muslim rule in the medieval period. In more recent times, crusader imagery has been co-opted by white supremacists that envision themselves in a battle against Muslims.

“I now recognize that and am deeply sorry. In no way do these images reflect my values and beliefs,” Pimlott wrote on Twitter.

Through the NDP, he sent a statement to CBC that was similar to what he posted publicly. He did not explain why he posted the image originally.

The meme appeared on his Facebook page twice, once in each 2011 and 2012, without any caption or source.

Since the messages came to light, the candidate said he had “a very good and detailed conversation” with members of the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council, an Edmonton-based non-profit that champions anti-racism efforts.

“In that conversation, I apologized for a social media post I made many years ago,” Pimlott wrote. “I look forward to working with AMPAC to build greater understanding and working with them to continue the fight against racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.”

The Facebook posts were publicized by Shaping Alberta’s Future, a political action committee that’s registered with Elections Alberta to buy advertising during the election season.

The group has the stated purpose of opposing the NDP and electing the United Conservative Party, and has launched an anti-NDP website that includes the posts from Pimlott.

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