Winnipeg police investigate threats made against mosque

The National Council of Canadian Muslims is urging action after a Winnipeg mosque was the target of several threats, it says.

The organization posted on social media earlier this week, saying a mosque received a series of harassing and Islamophobic phone calls. The threats are alarming, the organization said. 

CBC News isn't naming the mosque because it fears more harassment. 

"The comments that were made to the mosque included the notion that Muslims have a religious obligation to be traitors to the Canadian state," said Sadaf Ahmed, who is with the council.

"They were hostile, expressing clear Islamophobic tropes.

"Across Canada, these incidents are increasingly becoming routine," she said. 

Winnipeg police received a report about the phone calls Sept. 24 and the major crimes unit is investigating, police spokesperson Dani McKinnon said in an email

No arrests have been made at this time, she said. 

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said on social media Friday that he was "deeply troubled to hear of the hateful, Islamophobic harassment targeting a Winnipeg mosque."

"We condemn Islamophobia in all its forms," Kinew said in the post. "We are one Manitoba, and hate has no place in our province."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also posted about the incident on social media. 

"I'm angry to learn that women wearing hijabs were the target of a violent attack in London, and a mosque in Winnipeg was the target of hateful harassment," the post said.

"Islamophobia kills. Whenever we see it, we'll confront it — and we'll work to keep our communities safe from it."

Ahmed called for more proactive rather than reactive measures so situations like this don't escalate further.

"The community at large is alarmed and concerned about safety," she said.

"Our communities perceive mosques as safe spaces, and so we just need to ensure that our elected officials, public safety, ardently ensure that they remain or that they are in fact safe spaces."