-For Immediate Release-

Canadian Muslims 'deeply troubled' by Prime Ministers

comments implicating mosques in terror promotion
(Ottawa February 2, 2015) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the
Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association (CMLA) say they are very troubled by Prime Minister
Stephen Harpers remarks on January 30th implicating Canadian mosques as places where
terrorism is advocated and promoted.
The two prominent Canadian Muslim groups noted that during his announcement of Bill C-51,
dubbed the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015, in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Prime Minister Stephen
Harper said: It doesn't matter what the age of the person is, or whether they're in a basement,
or whether they're in a mosque, or somewhere else. When you are engaged in activities that
explicitly promote or advocate terrorism, that is a serious criminal offence no matter who you
are.
In a joint statement released today, the NCCM and CMLA said:
Canadian Muslims are deeply troubled by the Prime Ministers comments last Friday which
implicated Canadian mosques as venues where terrorism is advocated or promoted. The words
used by our elected leaders have a profound impact on public perceptions. At a time when
Canadian Muslims have faced hateful attacks and vandalism against their places of worship, the
Prime Ministers remarks have regrettably cast an unjust shadow of suspicion on Canadian
Muslim communities and have distorted the nature of security threats.
We remind the Prime Minister that Canadian mosques and Islamic associations across the
country are at the forefront in confronting radicalization towards violent extremism and have
and continue to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement and security agencies to promote
public safety.
We urge the Prime Minister to unconditionally apologize for his ill-advised comments and to
meet with mainstream Canadian Muslims to better understand the important role community
institutions are playing to counter the ideology of violent extremism.

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