An Islamic centre in Gatineau says it has been targeted in a weeks-long Islamophobic hate campaign. According to a Thursday evening Facebook post from the Centre Islamique de l’Outaouais, the centre has been subject to threats and a hateful graffiti, and members of the centre have faced online harassment. The centre says there have been multiple instances of “deport Islam” graffiti in the vicinity of the centre. “Despite repeated efforts by the City of Gatineau’s municipal services to erase the graffiti, its perpetrators keep coming back to reproduce it, even going so far as to target one of our center’s premises last weekend,” the Outaouais Islamic Centre wrote in a French-language statement. “This escalation is all the more concerning as it is part of a resurgence of hate acts targeting Muslims and their institutions, in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.” In May, a man from Gatineau was charged for making threats against a mosque in Aylmer, Que. According to Statistics Canada, there was a 173 per cent increase in police-reported hate crimes targeting Muslim people across Canada between 2020 and 2024. The Outaouais Islamic Centre say they are working with Gatineau police and are asking elected officials to “act without delay to put an end to these repeated acts of hate and preserve the climate of peace that has always characterized our city.” “Hate cannot divert us from our commitment to serving our community and contributing to a city where everyone can live safely, with respect and dignity,” the centre said.
