Local Muslim Women Urged To Recognize And Report Hate Crimes

KITCHENER — A taxi driver made a parting remark to a Muslim woman getting out of a cab in Kitchener, “Don’t go blowing any of us up, now.”

Another Muslim woman found a derogatory message scrawled on the dusty windshield of her parked car outside the K-W Surplus store on Victoria Street.

A third Muslim woman was yelled at by a Kitchener bus driver who called her ignorant and accused her of not knowing English.

Related:

• Teen regrets making racist YouTube video, dad says

These incidents are examples of what Sarah Shafiq, chair of the coalition of Muslim Women of K-W, calls “hate incidences.”

The coalition is holding a Hate Crimes Workshop in Kitchener on April 25 to help Muslim women understand the crimes and know how to report them.

An example of a hate crime was the spray-painting of offensive graffiti on the mosque of the Muslim Society of Waterloo and Wellington Counties on Erb Street West in Waterloo in the spring of 2010, Shafiq said.

A21-year-old man and several friends smashed windows and spray-painted pentagonal symbols and the numbers 666, often referred to as “the number of the beast,” on the mosque.

Shaken members of the mosque spent $7,000 to $8,000 to beef up security.

Shafiq hasn’t heard of any hate crimes since. But the coalition has been collecting reports of “hate incidences” and decided to hold the workshop now “so it doesn’t get worse,” Shafiq said Thursday. Most of the hate incidents have been verbal.

“We’ve been hearing people … heard negative comments directed at them because of their Muslim identity,” Shafiq said

Speakers at the workshop will help Muslim women understand what hate crimes are, how to report them and how to seek help.

The speakers will be Lee Fitzpatrick, director of community resources for Waterloo Regional Police, crisis responders from Victim Services of Waterloo Region and Imam Abu Noman Tarek, resident Imam and counsellor of Muslim Social Services.

 “The coalition felt the need to conduct this workshop because many incidences were being discussed within the local Muslim community but were not being officially reported,” said a news release.

Hate crimes are motivated by a person’s bias against race or religion, Shafiq said. They can include physical assault, threats, distributing hate propaganda, graffiti, firebombing and mischief.

The coalition has 30 to 40 members. Shafiq estimates there are 10,000 Muslims in Waterloo Region.

The workshop is being held in partnership with the Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre, K-W Counselling Services, the K-W Multicultural Centre, and Our Place Family Resource and Early Years Centre.

Funding has been received from the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation and the United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo.

The coalition is also launching a one-year pilot project to raise awareness of hate crimes and encourage reporting in Waterloo Region.

The coalition exists to strengthen the voices of local Muslim women and counter negative stereotypes.

The workshop will be held April 25 at Our Place Centre, 154 Gatewood Rd., Kitchener, from 4 to 8 p.m.