Messages of support follow anti-Islam protest downtown
Posted February 17, 2017 6:59 pm.
Last Updated February 17, 2017 7:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A small group of protesters gathered for an anti-Islam demonstration outside a downtown mosque on Friday afternoon.
They said they were calling for freedom and held signs that read “No Islam,” “Pedophilia,” and “Honour killing.”
When confronted by someone recording the protest on her cellphone, one of the protesters said, “It’s not hate. Islam is hate against the western civilization, North America, Canada, U.S.”
However, the protest at Masjid Toronto, near Dundas and Bay streets, also prompted an outpouring of support from other Torontonians.
“It really upset me,” said Estelle Amarone, who left a message outside the mosque. “It’s to tell them tell them you are welcome here.”
In fact, the protest is only the most recent example of Islamophobia in recent days.
Liberal MP Iqra Khalid has been targeted since she introduced a private member’s bill in the House of Commons this week calling for the government to condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.
