Mosque requests security funding

By Olivia Bowden

In the wake of a deadly shooting on Jan. 29 that killed six people at a Quebec City mosque, the national capital’s main mosque is applying for federal security funding.

The Ottawa Mosque on Northwestern Avenue in the city’s Wellington West neighbourhood, about four kilometres from Parliament Hill, has experienced hate crimes before.

The most recent and glaring incident involved racist graffiti being sprayed on the front doors in November.

But the attack in Quebec made seeking security funding a more urgent concern, said Ahmed Ibrahim, vice-president of the Ottawa Muslim Association.

Ibrahim started the application through the federal Security Infrastructure Program—which aims to provide security funding for communities at risk for hate crimes—soon after a gunman opened fire during evening prayers at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec.

The incident is one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history.

Public Safety Canada said that under the Security Infrastructure Program, $4.1 million has been allocated so far to 202 organizations of different faiths—including several Muslim associations and community centres in Ottawa, such as the Assunnah Muslims Association, the South Nepean Muslim Community and the Islamic Society of Cumberland.

The SIP provides up to 50 per cent of the costs to a maximum of $100,000 for community centres, places of worship and religious schools to improve their external security measures, such as fencing, outdoor lighting and cameras.

On Jan. 30, the Liberal government extended the deadline for security funding to March 31.

But even with extra funding, the Ottawa mosque doesn’t have enough money to fully secure the building, said Ibrahim.

“I need to change the structure of the doors and all of that will come from the mosque budget, which is based on donations and volunteer work,” he said, adding that the mosque is seeking SIP funding for security cameras and gates.

“The mosque is our home. To feel that I need to secure my home from someone that is going to attack me in it — it is not a good feeling,” he said. “I don’t wish for anyone to have this feeling.”

It’s also contrary to the purpose of the mosque, which is to admit anyone who wishes to worship, he said.

Ibrahim has heard concerns from members of the mosque about security. The shock of the Quebec City attack has rattled the community, he said.

Ibrahim said he left work early on the day after the tragedy because he couldn’t concentrate, and joined the protest at the U.S. embassy in downtown Ottawa against the Trump administration’s controversial visa ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. When Ibrahim returned to the mosque, he said a stranger in the prayer room approached him.

“He saw me, and hugged me,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything except cry.”

He said he has told community members that even with extra security, he can’t guarantee the mosque is safe.

The Ottawa Muslim Association has considered applying for security funding before, after three incidents last year.

In one, the mosque was sent a package of containing a white powder. It was analyzed by Ottawa police and was found to be crushed aspirin. A hate-filled email was also sent to the mosque about one month before the graffiti was sprayed on the mosque in November.

All three incidents were reported to police and members of the force have come to the mosque several times to educate the community on how to report hate crimes. Still, said Ibrahim, the shame that many feel when reporting a crime of this nature dissuades them from telling police.

“We’re trying to encourage (reporting), otherwise it will happen again and it won’t be just an insult, it might be something more severe.”

This story was produced in collaboration with iPolitics.