The splatter of a single paintball may seem harmless enough. But the fluorescent orange paint dripping beside the words Al-Ihsan Educational Foundation was symbolic of much more.
“I wonder if I need to call the police?” Aasim Rashid, the founder of the Islamic centre in Surrey, quietly asked himself.
Rashid admits being the target of vandalism is not a complete surprise, but the incident is part of a growing trend of hatred brewing in British Columbia. He said young Muslims are increasingly being targeted with racist comments, even physical attacks, in the wake of the Paris attacks and efforts to bring 25,000 Syrian Refugees to Canada.
“It’s not just the odd isolated incident,” said Rashid. “It’s happening quite a bit more.”
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The educational foundation is partnering up with the Muslim Students’ Association at UBC to host an event, After Paris, Questions for Muslims.
Rashid hopes the no-holds-barred question and answer session will bring people together to stand united in defiance of the ISIS attacks.
“We need to be wiser and outsmart them and beat them at their own game. Show them, no, we’re better than that. We will not resort to these sorts of sentiments just because you want us to have them,” said Rashid.
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Vancouver’s Shalom Temple also hopes to build relationships by breaking down prejudice. Rabbi Dan Moskovitz said members of his congregation first expressed fear when he suggested they help sponsor a Syrian refugee family.
“Syria is in an active state of war with Israel, there’s tremendous anti-Semitism in the region, there’s terrorism in Israel every single day. But fundamentally, these are human beings,” said Moskovitz.
Instead, Moskovitz asked his members to focus on the similarities between the persecution of the Jewish people and the struggles of Syrian refugees.
“This is not the Holocaust, but this is the biblical exodus. This is the story of the Jewish people.”
They responded by raising $40,000 in one day and are now exploring the possibility of sponsoring a second family.
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