Ontario Politicians Vow to Strengthen Ties with Muslim Community

IQNA – Legislators and politicians in London, Canada’s Ontario, acknowledge that they are losing support in the Muslim community over their parties’ stance on the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.  

They are vowing to strengthen ties with the Muslim community after a local imam was among many to call for an end to using mosques for political theatre.

More than 300 Muslim organizations across Canada signed a petition to ban members of parliament from entering mosques unless they call for a ceasefire in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. The petition comes ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this year on March 11 — a time when politicians often visit mosques to connect with constituents.

Besides calling for a ceasefire, the petition also asks politicians to condemn Israel's war crimes and providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

"I'm just so frustrated with our own government not being on the right side of history," said NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen, whose party has been calling for a ceasefire for months.

The Israeli war on Gaza has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and injured many more.

Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos acknowledges he has lost support from the Muslim community because his party has refused to call for a full ceasefire.

Fragiskatos' office has been vandalized multiple times with red paint and ketchup since Oct. 7 due to his position on the war.

"It's possible that I may have lost some support in the Muslim community, in the Palestinian community in particular," said Fragiskatos. "I'm here to listen and I will continue to engage with all constituents."

Conservative MPs Karen Vecchio, who represents Elgin Middlesex London and Arpan Khanna, who represents Oxford County, did not respond to requests from CBC to provide a statement on the matter.

'It needs to stop'

The Canadian Council of Imams (CCI) is one of approximately 300 Muslim groups that signed the petition.

London Imam Abd Alfatah Twakkal, director of the Canadian Council of Imams, said MPs who refuse to meet the petition's demands risk losing the "political capital within our communities."

Twakkal said Canadian Muslims aren't willing to settle for "tokenism" or "empty words and false promises."

"We're beyond that at this point because people are dying and it needs to change," he said. "It needs to stop."

Source: cbc.ca