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Hate-filled letter was delivered to Markaz Ul Islam Mosque
2-20-2019
Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council – AMPAC issued a statement on February 6 in response to the Hate filled letter.
The statement is as follows;
In the last few days, this hateful message was received at the Markaz Ul Islam, a beautiful mosque in Edmonton. We are shocked by the flagrant display of white supremacy that has now literally arrived on our doorsteps.
We call on Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party of Alberta to reject this message, and to take this opportunity to clearly condemn Islamophobia in Alberta.
We are Albertans.
We are Muslims.
We will always work to spread love, peace, and equality in our beautiful province.
#ableg #abpoli
[N.B: we have censored the flyer to remove more inflammatory and hateful language than we feel is appropriate for public consumption. An uncensored version has been passed to Edmonton Police Service]
A spokesperson for the Edmonton Police Service said the Hate Crimes and Violent Extremism Unit is investigating the letter, but had no further information.
President of the mosque Faisal Suri said, “It’s getting a little ridiculous now,” “Sometimes we take some humour into it,” he said. “A lot of us were born and raised in Canada, myself included. It’s always humorous to see such language. We are very much part of this society, this Canadian fabric that we live in. “We are where we’re from.”
UCP denied the letter saying, “This hateful note is in no way authorized or associated with the UCP (anyone can unfortunately paste an image into a document).”
Kenney later posted a longer statement on his Facebook page.
“Let me be perfectly clear: This hatred and bigotry has no place in our Alberta. All Albertans must be free to practice their faith in peace.
To the ignorant fool who sent this letter, you’d best look at my longstanding and ongoing work in pluralistic outreach, including all races, religions and creeds. I have no intention of changing that work.
If you’re willing to work hard, care about getting our province back on track for all Albertans, and support free enterprise principles, then the UCP welcomes you. If you want to spread hate and division, you have no place in this party and never will.
This letter of course has absolutely nothing to do with the UCP. I think it’s clear that there is a small group of social miscreants taking it upon themselves to do this.
In fact, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if the UCP logo was deliberately used in this letter in order to smear our big tent, tolerant party.
The UCP is the antithesis of the hateful, narrow-minded ‘Soldiers of Odin/Wolves of Odin/The Clann’ (or whatever these sad losers call themselves these days).
In closing, I’d remind you of the principles of our united party, as stated in our founding document (https://tinyurl.com/y96l7bya):
“The United Conservative Party will be guided by the following principles: The rule of law, equality of all before the law, and protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of all” and “a robust civil society made up of free individuals, strong families, and voluntary associations.”
Premier Rachel Notley also issued a statement:
“On behalf of all Albertans, I strongly condemn the acts of racism and Islamophobia we’ve seen recently directed at our Muslim friends and neighbours here in Alberta. Racism and hate is not welcome here in Alberta and I’m going to continue to fight to ensure all Albertans feel safe and welcome. In response to the hate incident at the Markaz Ul Islam mosque, the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council has called on Jason Kenney to clearly and unequivocally reject white supremacy, to stop sending mixed signals to the Muslim community, and recognize the fact that Islamophobia exists.
“While Jason Kenney has said there’s no place for hatred in his party racists and extremists clearly feel welcome with them. As such, in the interests of pushing back against the presence of hate in our province, Mr. Kenney has an elected obligation to personally condemn these values and to also take concrete actions to evict these factions from the UCP. The fight against hate and racism is not an event – it is a process. And it must never stop.
“This is a leadership moment for Mr. Kenney and a test of his character. I’m joining AMPAC and Albertans to say no more mixed signals, no more dog whistles, no more defending racist candidates and policies. It’s time to clearly condemn Islamophobia and stand with us to fight back against this spreading racism and intolerance”
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