The NDP’s election candidate for the riding of Calgary-Peigan issued an apology on Saturday afternoon after a social media post he shared about jihad and the Crusades was leaked to the media.
Screenshots of the meme suggest Joe Pimlott shared the images on Dec. 27, 2011 and July 1, 2012. It shows what appears to be a knight with a cross emblazoned on his chest armour and reads, “I’ll see your jihad and I’ll raise you one crusade.”
The Crusades refers to religious battles between Christians and Muslims that were fought between the 11th and 13th centuries.
“The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East,” reads a description of the Crusades on the History Channel’s website.
Pimlott issued a statement hours after a third-party advertiser, Sharing Alberta’s Future, leaked screenshots of the meme to media outlets.
“I did not understand the context of this image when I shared it,” Pimlott said. “I sincerely apologize for this.
“As a member of the Métis community and a proud Albertan, I will take better care to be more considerate on social media moving forward.”
Global News reached out to the NDP to ask the party or its leader for its reaction to the meme but the party declined to comment.
Late Saturday night, Pimlott tweeted that he had a discussion with the Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council about the meme.
“In that conversation, I apologized for a social media post I made many years ago,” he tweeted. “When I made the post, I was unaware of the Islamophobic and anti-Semitic connotations.
“I now recognize that and am deeply sorry. In no way do these images reflect my values and beliefs.
“I look forward to working with AMPAC to build greater understanding and working with them to continue the fight against racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.”
Albertans head to the polls on April 16.
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