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After months of silence during hate-filled marches, TPS launch hate-crime investigation over van showing Muslims praying
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After more than eight months of hate-filled protests on our streets aimed at Jews, Toronto Police were quick to act on Wednesday.
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They announced that they are looking into a truck carrying a message about Muslims praying in public spaces in Canada.
Forget all the cries of “from the river to the sea” or “only one solution, Intifada revolution,” the real hate is someone pointing out that taking over streets and public squares for prayer is not normal in Canada.
We’ve had months of pro-Hamas marches throughout the city since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and the Toronto Police Service (TPS) has stood by and watched. There have been Jewish schools shot up, Jewish businesses attacked, and synagogues vandalized, but the thing that really gets TPS to act is a van with a political message.
“We recognize the community’s concern about a truck displaying Islamophobic messaging in Toronto. The TPS Hate Crime Unit is investigating,” the police service posted online.
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OK, noted, calling for death and violence to Jews while marching through Toronto streets or while set up at the Tentifada at the University of Toronto is fine. Questioning the practice of Muslims taking over public spaces – without permits – to engage in prayer is a hate crime worthy of investigation.
We all see where this is going, Chief Demkiw, you and your force aren’t applying the law evenly and instead are looking to appease the larger demographic group.
That’s not law enforcement, it’s political pandering and, quite frankly, it’s disgusting.
The truck being called out on social media, which TPS seems to care more about than what is actually happening on our streets, was a combination of words and video. It asks a series of questions while showing video before asking people to wake up.
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“Is this Yemen?” the message asks. “Is this Syria? Is this Iraq?”
The ad then shows what appears to be Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square filled with hundreds of Muslims bowing down to pray.
“No. This is Canada. Wake up Canada. You are under siege,” the ads states.
This has been called racist, bigoted, anti-Islam, an example of Islamophobia and more. First off, Islam is not a race, so this can’t be racist and at best we could call this impolite.
There is no need for the hate crimes unit to be investigating this incident.
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If Catholics suddenly started taking over public squares or major intersections without permits for the Angelus or to pray the Rosary or to say Mass, you can bet that there would be public complaints. Those complaining would not be accused of racism, bigotry or Christophobia, they would be championed in the pages of the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail as standing up for the separation of Church and State.
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Apparently, neither now nor in the future do we need a separation of Mosque and State.
One doesn’t need to agree with the message put forward by the van driving around Toronto to see the problem in TPS jumping to prosecute on this front. The pro-Hamas protesters have driven around a similar vehicle equating Zionism with terrorism, diminishing the role that Hamas played in starting this war and blaming Israel for all the problems in the Middle East.
They didn’t jump to say the Hate Crimes Unit was investigating, in fact they said nothing.
That’s what TPS has done for most of the last eight months, nothing. They have taken people like me, who generally support the police, and made me question whether defunding them is such a bad idea after all.
It’s high time the police do their jobs without fear or favour.
blilley@postmedia.com
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