Security Incident at the IIT – Updated

June 16, 2021
In Aftermath of Threats at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, the IIT calls for the incident to be investigated as hate-motivated (Toronto – June 16, 2021)

On Tuesday, June 15, 2021, two individuals illegally attempted to enter the Islamic Institute of Toronto and uttered several violent threats. These threats included bomb threats against our institution.

“We are extremely concerned and saddened that this incident took place in our beautiful place of worship. No community, or any place of worship should be subjected to such threats and heightened anxiety. Such incidents run against the very core values that we as Canadians believe, cherish and take pride in our country” said Fareed Amin, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Institute of Toronto.

In the aftermath of the London Attacks that took the lives of four cherished members of our community, the IMO attack, and the Quebec City Mosque attack, we must remain vigilant, but not cowed.

We have been in contact with the Toronto Police Service and are calling for this incident to be investigated as a potentially hate-motivated crime.

We will continue to fight Islamophobia and all forms of racism in building a safe and dignified society for all members of our community.

We are available for comment.

Media Contact:
Fareed Amin,
Chair, Islamic Institute of Toronto,
iit@islam.ca
Fatema Abdalla, Communications Coordinator, National Council of Canadian Muslims, fabdalla@nccm.ca

June 15, 2021
Security incident at IIT earlier today:

As some of you have heard, there was an incident at the Islamic Institute of Toronto earlier today.

Police were called when two individuals attempted to access the building illegally, and uttered threats when confronted. They have been arrested and are in police custody.

We are in contact with the police and will have more to say later.

We know that there is heightened concern in the aftermath of the London Terror Attack.

If there are Islamophobia-related aspects to the incident, we will let the community know ASAP.

In the interim, we urge our community not to speculate as the investigation moves forward.