CALGARY – Canadian Muslims are alarmed by a brazen arson attack on a mosque in Edson, Albertam which was set on fire late last Saturday night shortly after a small group of people left the building following evening prayers.
The three people who were praying inside had left the Edson Mosque, about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton, and were still in the parking lot when the fire started at the building’s south entrance at around 11 p.m. local time.
“It was quite brazen,” Baterdouk said. “Typically you would think that someone who wants to commit arson or vandalism, if they see people … they probably would change their mind. But this individual, it does not seem to be a concern for him.
“That makes it a little bit more scary to see the fact that the individual knows that there’s people on the property, whether they’re inside or not, and he still went ahead with it.”
Mosque security camera footage captured the flames as well as a person in a dark hoodie leaving the property with what appears to be a red jerrycan.
Firefighters arrived 15 minutes after the fire started and extinguished it, said Tufik Baterdouk, vice-president of the Islamic Society of Edson.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada is also deeply concerned by the mosque fire, which took place during the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr. The fire damaged the entrance to the mosque.
WSO Alberta Vice President Tejinder Singh Sidhu said, “we stand in solidarity with the Muslim community in condemning this repulsive act. Canada is founded on the principles of diversity, multiculturalism and freedom of religion. Any attack on a place of worship is not just an attack on one community but an attack on these principles that we as Canadians hold so dearly. We are confident that the police will investigate this matter thoroughly and those responsible will be apprehended and charged appropriately.”
