Residents of two north Toronto neighbourhoods are holding a rally this afternoon to decry several recent acts of Islamophobia that have taken place across the city.
Members of the Muslim, immigrant and refugee communities in Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park have been asked to attend the gathering at Valley Park Middle School on Overlea Boulevard to present a united front against Islamophobia.
According to a news release, the protesters will call for an end to "wars of aggression in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq" that have "fanned Islamophobia in Canada and exacerbated anti-refugee and anti-immigrant sentiment."
The rally, which is being organized by the Thorncliffe Reach-Out Teach-In community group, comes four days after a woman wearing a hijab was attacked and robbed outside a Flemingdon Park school in what police are calling a possible hate crime. On Wednesday, police were also contacted after three people allegedly accosted two women wearing hijabs on the subway, making racial comments and accusing them of being terrorists.
Organizers say they expect several hundred people to attend today's rally.
“We are here to show our solidarity with the Muslim women being attacked in this community,” Participant Syed Hussan told CP24 on Saturday afternoon. “It is an assertion of community power. We are here to say that we are not afraid but also to build solidarity in different communities against Islamophobia.”
Toronto politicians pen open letter.
The recent wave of anti-Muslim sentiment that has been seen in the city has prompted many prominent Torontonians to speak out.
On Friday an open letter signed by every member of city council, the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board was released, calling on residents to “commit to love in the face of hate” and to “stand united” against Islamophobia.
Discussing that letter with CP24 on Saturday, Coun. Mike Layton said he believes it conveys a feeling that is shared by many Torontonians.
“This is not the city I grew up in and it is not the city that I want to build for my kids and I think a lot of people share that with me and are looking for something to rally behind and you are seeing that with the actions of some of the residents across the city,” he said. “They know that there are those in the world that want us to be afraid of one another and want to create these rifts and we as a city need to send a clear message that we won’t fall along those lines and that we will unite.”
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