Hijab-wearing woman says she’s fearful after being attacked in Ajax, Ont., library

A Muslim woman who was attacked while studying in an Ajax, Ont., library says the incident has left her terrified and worried about her family’s safety.

The woman has issued a statement through the National Council of Canadian Muslims, two days after the suspect in the attack allegedly tried to set her hijab on fire.

She says she is now gripped by fear, unable to sleep and afraid for her daughters, all of whom wear the hijab.

Durham Regional Police have said the woman was studying in the main branch of the Ajax Public Library on Saturday when she was allegedly approached by another woman who yelled profanities and threw objects at her head.

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They said the 25-year-old suspect then tried to remove the woman’s hijab, poured an unknown liquid onto it and attempted to set it on fire with a lighter.

Police said the suspect fled the library but was arrested a few hours later and charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and three counts of failing to comply with probation order.

“Since that day I haven’t been able to sleep properly,” the victim, whose name has not been publicly released, said in her statement.

Fatema Abdalla, an advocacy officer with the National Council of Canadian Muslims, delivered the woman’s statement at a news conference on Monday, choking up as she read it.

“Every time I close my eyes the incident replays over and over again. I toss and turn, gripped by my fear,” the victim wrote, adding that it’s left her questioning the safety of public spaces.

“I keep asking myself why, why would someone attack me for just peacefully sitting there?”

The NCCM is asking authorities to investigate the alleged assault as a hate crime, saying that incidents of Islamophobia have “increased exponentially.”

Municipal officials in Ajax have said that “acts of hate and violence will not be tolerated in any town facility or public space.”