An arrest warrant has been issued for a Jordanian imam who is accused of giving a sermon last December denigrating Jews.
The Montreal police hate crimes unit investigated the sermon at a Montreal mosque in December 2016.
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A Quebec judge signed the arrest warrant last week for Moh’d Mousa Hussein Nasr, also known as Imam Sheikh Muhammad ibn Musa Al Nasr.
The cleric is charged with one count of willful promotion of hatred and his whereabouts remain unknown.
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Video of the sermon at Montreal’s Dar al-Arqam Mosque shows the cleric calling the Jews the “worst of mankind” and hoping for their slaughter at the hands of Muslims.
It was posted and shared widely on YouTube.
B’nai Brith Canada has since started a petition for more stringent enforcement of Canada’s hate crime laws.
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“Today, the Jewish community of Montreal can sleep safer, knowing that there is a price to pay for inciting violence against our community,” said Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of B’nai Brith Canada.
“This incident and others like it demonstrate that antisemitism, especially in the guise of religion, remains a serious problem in Canada today.”
“We hope that these charges will deter future threats and assaults on our community.”
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The warrant for Al Nasr’s arrest comes on the heels of an investigation into a rapper known as Madd Cold, who is being investigated by the Montreal police’s hate crimes unit for inciting violence against the Jewish community following a complaint by B’nai Brith.
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