The swastika symbol was painted on the outside wall of the Islamic Center in Cambridge, Canada (Canadian Press)

Canadian politicians on Thursday condemned the hate incident that targeted the Islamic Center in Cambridge, Canada, stressing the need to confront the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in the country, which activists considered a result of government policies and the media coverage of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The incident occurred last Sunday evening at the Islamic Center in Cambridge, where patrons of the center found symbols of swastikas painted black, while Waterloo police reported that they were investigating the incident in cooperation with the relevant authorities.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented - via the X platform - saying that the acts of vandalism that occurred at the Islamic Center in Cambridge, and the high rates of Islamophobia in all of Canada, are abhorrent, worrying and unacceptable.

Trudeau condemned the incident, stressing his support for Islamic communities in Canada and the necessity of combating Islamophobia. However, bloggers highlighted the existence of a real crisis and a continuous increase in Islamophobia incidents that the Canadian government has not dealt with.

Who's "we" here? You're the one hellbent on supporting a fascist Zio regime that's blowing up predominantly Muslim children and then you wonder why there's a "rise in Islamophobia" in Canada. Toothless slimy alabaster. https://t.co/Hk6CiOURSe

— Axel Folio, PhD, 🍉 Banana in tailpipe detector🔻 (@ISASaxonists) February 15, 2024

For his part, Canadian Justice Minister Arif Virani said that Muslims must feel safe in their places of worship, and this hatred must stop, and Canadian society must stand united against it.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims condemned the incident, noting the recent increase in such incidents across Canada, and calling for unity and action to combat the phenomenon.

A few days ago, Muslims commemorated the attack on a mosque in Quebec City that occurred in 2017, which resulted in the killing of 6 Muslims and the injury of 5 others, but confronting the phenomenon of Islamophobia has not developed sufficiently since then.

Crazy idea for helping to reduce Islamophobia: all levels of government and media not aligning to smear peace marchers as bigots while (primarily) Muslims are being slaughtered & displaced, with Canada's approval and material support. https://t.co/8mrIXmlbuU

— Dave Beatty (@dbeatty) February 14, 2024

Writer Dave Beatty criticized government statements about the phenomenon, saying that the government and the media should not ally to discredit the peaceful marches, which they consider “fanatic,” at a time when Muslims are being slaughtered and displaced in Gaza with Canada’s approval and financial support.

In January 2023, Canada appointed its first Special Representative to Combat Islamophobia (hatred of Islam), a position created after a recent series of attacks targeting Muslims in the country.

Over recent years, a series of bloody attacks have targeted Canadian Muslims. In June 2021, 4 members of a Muslim family were killed when someone ran them over with his truck in Ontario.

Source: Al Jazeera