Sun News : Community helps clean graffiti from northern Alberta mosque
OLD LAKE, Alberta - Non-Muslim Cold Lake citizens are rallying around their Muslim neighbours after the local mosque was vandalized in this northern Alberta military town.
Both front windows of the Cold Lake Mosque were broken and the words "go home" and "Canada" were spray-painted in red on the outside of the building sometime Thursday night.
"The writing hurts. This is my home, this is our home. This is the only home we have. Cold Lake is our home. Canada is our home," said Mahmoud El-Kadri, a director of the mosque, who discovered the vandalism about 6 a.m. Friday when he arrived to pray.
Local business leaders and citizens came to the mosque Friday offering support.
Members of the mosque gathered posters, flowers and gifts from the community and displayed them by the windows that were smashed.
Marilyn Maclain-Harvie was one of the first to arrive with a can of graffiti remover.
"I saw it on Facebook at work," she said.
Soon, a small group gathered, scrubbing walls and covering the hateful message with signs saying "you are home."
The group joined arms and sang O Canada.
Elkadri was grateful.
"I will thank everyone. They ensured for me that this is my home," he said, adding he had people call him from all across the country to offer their support and that made him "forget about the windows and forget about the writing."
The mosque's security camera wasn't working when the vandalism took place.
El-Kadri said he will pray for whomever the offenders are.
"I'll thank God that that camera was not working because I don't want to know who did it," he said.
"The only thing I can do is pray for him that Allah will guide him."
Mayor Craig Copeland said he was "disappointed" the vandalism occurred, but wasn't surprised by the local response, saying he's "proud of everybody as a community. That's Cold Lake."
On Tuesday, six CF-18 Hornet fighter jets took off from 4 Wing Cold Lake -- the country's busiest fighter aircraft base -- with sights set on Iraq.
Cold Lake is located about 400 km northeast of Edmonton.
OLD LAKE, Alberta - Non-Muslim Cold Lake citizens are rallying around their Muslim neighbours after the local mosque was vandalized in this northern Alberta military town.
Both front windows of the Cold Lake Mosque were broken and the words "go home" and "Canada" were spray-painted in red on the outside of the building sometime Thursday night.
"The writing hurts. This is my home, this is our home. This is the only home we have. Cold Lake is our home. Canada is our home," said Mahmoud El-Kadri, a director of the mosque, who discovered the vandalism about 6 a.m. Friday when he arrived to pray.
Local business leaders and citizens came to the mosque Friday offering support.
Members of the mosque gathered posters, flowers and gifts from the community and displayed them by the windows that were smashed.
Marilyn Maclain-Harvie was one of the first to arrive with a can of graffiti remover.
"I saw it on Facebook at work," she said.
Soon, a small group gathered, scrubbing walls and covering the hateful message with signs saying "you are home."
The group joined arms and sang O Canada.
Elkadri was grateful.
"I will thank everyone. They ensured for me that this is my home," he said, adding he had people call him from all across the country to offer their support and that made him "forget about the windows and forget about the writing."
The mosque's security camera wasn't working when the vandalism took place.
El-Kadri said he will pray for whomever the offenders are.
"I'll thank God that that camera was not working because I don't want to know who did it," he said.
"The only thing I can do is pray for him that Allah will guide him."
Mayor Craig Copeland said he was "disappointed" the vandalism occurred, but wasn't surprised by the local response, saying he's "proud of everybody as a community. That's Cold Lake."
On Tuesday, six CF-18 Hornet fighter jets took off from 4 Wing Cold Lake -- the country's busiest fighter aircraft base -- with sights set on Iraq.
Cold Lake is located about 400 km northeast of Edmonton.
