Toronto (May 19, 2020) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) has called on a Toronto-area mosque to publicly denounce antisemitic remarks broadcast on its property over the weekend.

A man using a loudspeaker at the Jaffari Centre, a Shia mosque in Thornhill, recited the Islamic call to prayer and instructed followers to boycott “all the Zionist businesses,” claiming that it is “illegal” and “forbidden” for Muslims to do business with “Zionists.” He also stated that the mosque and its followers stood with him against the “illegitimate Zionist regime,” the “betrayal of the holy land,” and “whatever kind of evil things they [the Jews/Zionists] do.”

In a statement released Sunday, the Jaffari Centre stated that this man broadcast his prayer from their property without their authorization. However, they offered no direct comment regarding the substance of the man’s remarks.

In a letter written to Jaffari Centre Vice President Shafiq Ebrahim, FSWC called on the mosque to make a clear public statement that the remarks broadcast from their property were unacceptable. “We are asking you to publicly denounce this man’s words as well as his effort to defame our community and yours with his vile and antisemitic message. We hope you will join us in sending a clear message that hate will not be tolerated by our communities and has no place in our country.”

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