Advocates say Canada’s Muslim community is disappointed a man who assaulted worshippers at a Mississauga, Ont., mosque last year with bear spray and while brandishing a hatchet has received an eight-year sentence.
Imam Ibrahim Hindy says the attack at the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre has left the community with long-lasting psychological pain that no jail time can fix and the sentencing delivered at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton today does little to deter future violence against Muslims.
Police have said Mohammad Moiz Omar entered the Islamic centre in March, 2022, and attacked those inside while they had their backs turned to him to pray.
The 24-year-old man was charged with multiple offences including assault with a weapon, and police have said the charges constitute terrorist activity under the Criminal Code.
Mr. Hindy says the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton recently heard Omar consumed Islamophobic content online and had a list of mosques he wanted to target before he chose the Islamic centre because it was closest to him.
Steven Zhou, a spokesman for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, says a justice revealed today Mr. Omar is eligible for parole halfway into his sentence, which is also a concern for the Muslim community because some fear he might attack again.