He broke into the mosque and shouted in the face of the worshippers. Man charged in Canada with hate crime

Canadian police said they arrested a man and charged him with what they called a "hate incident" at an Ontario mosque on Thursday after he went towards a worshipper, threatened him and insulted him religiously.

York District Police said in a statement that the incident occurred in the town of Markham, while suspect Sharan Karunakaran, 28, was arrested in Toronto.

Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng denounced the incident as a hate crime, saying it had no place in Canadian society.

The minister, who is a member of parliament from the region, added: "This violence and Islamophobia have no place in our societies."

The Markham Islamic Society said someone came to the mosque in the town, 30 kilometres north of Toronto, on Thursday, apparently tore up a Koran and shouted at worshippers, while Sunday's police statement did not mention the issue of tearing up the Koran.

Police said the suspect had been charged with threats, assault with a weapon and dangerous driving and that he was due to appear before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket on Tuesday.