Second Montreal Mosque Hosts ‘Death To Jews’ Imam

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A second Montreal mosque hosted an imam offering a speech demonizing Jews and quoting from the Quran to kill them.
In a speech last December at the Dar al-Arkam mosque, Muhammad bin Musa al Nasr described Jews as “the most evil of mankind” and as “human demons,” the CIJNews reported Monday. He then quote from the Quran: at “the end of time … the stone and the tree will say: ‘Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me – come and kill him!’”
The mosque allowed the West Bank-born imam, a prominent member of the hard-line Salafist movement in Jordan, where he lectures at the al-Ahliyya University in Amman, to deliver more than a dozen other speeches as well.
B’nai Brith Canada has filed a complaint against al Nasr, the second recent complaint about a Montreal imam.
A video released earlier this month by the Middle East Media Research Institute showed Sheikh Wael Al-Ghitawi in November 2014 delivering a sermon at the Al Andalous Islamic Center in the St. Laurent borough against the “people who slayed the prophets, shed their blood, and cursed the Lord …”
Early last month, a video from August 2014 released on YouTube showed a different imam from the mosque calling on Allah to “destroy the accursed Jews” and that they be killed “one by one.”
“It’s been 42 days since we filed a complaint about the last imam to promote such hatred, and Montreal police are still deciding whether calling on Allah to ‘destroy the accursed Jews’ is hate speech,” said Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada. “When will Canada finally recognize that we are not immune to racism and anti-Semitism, and that it is this type of rhetoric that directly leads to radicalization all over the world?”
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
