‘Vicious, hate-motivated attack’ against Muslim 'rupture that won't heal' in Canada, says advocacy group

HAMILTON, Canada

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) on Thursday condemned what it described as a “vicious, hate-motivated attack” on a Muslim hotel worker in Markham, calling it a "rupture that won't heal" in Canada.

"As I stand here with you, I am not just disappointed or sad; more than anything, I am angry," Omar Khamissa, chief operating officer at NCCM, said at a news conference.

"Like all my colleagues, and so many in our community, I have seen Muslims across Canada be subjected to continuous attacks. This one just might be one of the worst," he stressed.

A 54-year-old man working as a night auditor at a hotel in Markham was asked Sept. 28 about his ethnic and religious background by two customers.

One of the customers left the hotel, but later came back and allegedly attacked the worker, who had told them he is Muslim.

The Muslim man was left with life-altering injuries.

"The Hate Crime Prevention Unit has charged a Toronto man following a violent, hate-motivated assault on a hotel employee in the City of Markham," police said in a statement.

Police identified the suspect as 31-year-old Geethansan Sriranjan, who "told the victim he was going to kill him and chased him to a room, where he was violently assaulted."

Emphasizing that the attack reflects the deep-rooted Islamophobia in Canada, Khamissa said, "It is disgusting. What happened with our brother makes me sick to my stomach. I am out of words. I am frustrated. I feel at a loss trying to address this problem again and again and again. This is a rupture that won't heal in this country."

"When will Canada realize that systemic changes are needed to protect our community from these acts of Islamophobic violence?" he asked.

Khamissa wanted the incident to not be "another moment of mourning," but "a moment that Canada finally wakes up" in the face of rising Islamophobia.

The victim's wife, who did not reveal her name due to safety concerns, described her family's devastation. "Each time I look at him, my heart breathes, because the surgeon mentioned that he will not look the same, and I know that he will not feel the same either," she said at the news conference.

"No wife has to see her husband like that. No children should have to see their father like that," she said.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti voiced solidarity with the Muslim community. "We do stand in solidarity today with the victim's family, with the victim, but with the broader Muslim community," he said. "My only hope now is that the justice system in Canada will not let this family down.”