Canadian Imam, teacher and activist shares prayer to “Tear them [the Jews] to pieces”
An imam in British Columbia has recently been found to have shared on his official Facebook page Islamic prayers that call for violence against the Jewish people.
In July 2014 Younus Kathrada, who is also an Islamic Studies teacher, public speaker and community and youth activist, posted a religious prayer that included lyrics such as: “Count them and kill them selectively, and do not leave a single one of them, and make them an example for their likes among the [Jews], [Christians], and [polytheists]” and “Purify it [Al-Asqa Mosque] from the brothers of monkeys and khanzeer [Jews]…Tear them [Jews] to pieces, and sow dissension between them and their followers.”
The imam reportedly has a history of antisemitic and hateful remarks. In October 2019, he advised his congregants not to vote in the Canadian federal election and argued that all Jewish and Christian candidates were “evil” and “filthy”. In March and April this year, YouTube videos by Mr Kathrada, aimed at a young target audience, urged followers to “destroy the enemies of Islam, the heretics and the atheists.” The videos are yet to be removed.
B’nai Brith Canada reported the incidents to the police after Mr Kathrada first called Jews “brothers of monkeys and swine” in 2004, and the organisation has since reached out to the British Columbia Hate Crimes Unit concerning his more recent attacks and outbursts. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that has listed Mr Kathrada’s Muslim Youth of Victoria Society as a registered charity, and there have been calls on the Minister of National Revenue to investigate these incidents.
The Chief Executive Officer for B’nai Brith Canada has stated that hate-mongering “under the guise of religious discourse” is inexcusable and must be investigated to guarantee that antisemitic sentiments are not ignored or facilitated.
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