FSWC Calls on Toronto Mosque to Denounce Antisemitic 'Prayers'

TORONTO - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) has called on a Toronto-area mosque to publicly denounceantisemitic remarks broadcast on its property over the weekend.

A man using a loudspeaker at the Jaffari Centre, a Shia mosque in Thornhill, recited the Islamic call to prayer and instructedfollowers to boycott “all the Zionist businesses,” claiming that it is “illegal” and “forbidden” for Muslims to do business with “Zionists.” He also stated that the mosque and its followers stoodwith him against the “illegitimate Zionist regime,” the “betrayal of the holy land,” and “whatever kind of evil things they [the Jews/Zionists] do.”

In a statement released Sunday, the Jaffari Centre stated that this man broadcast his prayer from their property without theirauthorization. However, they offered no direct comment regarding the substance of the man’s remarks.

In a letter written to Jaffari Centre Vice President Shafiq Ebrahim, FSWC called on the mosque to make a clear public statement thatthe remarks broadcast from their property were unacceptable. “We are asking you to publicly denounce this man’s words as well as his effort to defame our community and yours with his vile andantisemitic message. We hope you will join us in sending a clear message that hate will not be tolerated by our communities and has no place in our country.”

For more information, please contact the Center's Communications Department at pressinquiries@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updatessent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member familiesin the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament(Parlatino).
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