A security guard who asked a Muslim man to stop praying at a train station in Canada has been suspended from his role.
The passenger, who identified himself as Ahmad, told CTV news Ottawa that a security guard — subcontracted to work for Canada’s Via Rail — came up to him after he had just finished praying and said “don’t pray in here.”
The security guard can be heard saying “don’t pray in here. We don’t want you praying here. You’re bothering our other customers, OK? Pray outside next time.”
The incident took place on Monday in the Canadian capital and Mr Ahmed shared the story on Thursday last week with the media.
The moment was also captured by a passerby and the video later went viral and sparked outrage on social media.
The video showed the security guard telling the man that his prayers were disturbing other people at the station.
Via Rail and the National Council of Canadian Muslims, a civil rights and advocacy group, issued a joint statement saying they met to discuss the “regrettable and saddening incident" and said that an investigation has also been launched.
The statement said that they “engaged in a constructive dialogue following the regrettable and saddening incident involving a man who was praying in Via Rail’s Ottawa Station.
“The conversation focused on common objectives, namely, to ensure that Via Rail provides an inclusive environment where passengers and employees feel safe practising freedom of religion, including the ability to worship.
Mr Ahmad said that the incident: “made me feel embarrassed. I was just disgusted. Like: this is Canada? This is the nation’s capital? This is Ottawa?”
Via Rail also issued an unreserved apology to the man and the entire Muslim community and promised a full investigation and “appropriate actions” based on its findings. They also reiterated that they strongly condemn Islamophobia and any discriminatory behaviour.
Via Rail said that it is also working to improve its diversity and inclusion policies after this incident.
In recent years, Canada has witnessed the highest number of Muslims killed in hate-motivated attacks out of all the G7 countries.
The Conversation online researched the treatment of Canadian Muslim communities by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and had some shocking findings.
Its report said: "We found that CSIS adopts specific surveillance practices that are informed by Islamophobic tropes. This works on the premise that Islam and any expression of religious devotion to it represents a potential terror suspect.
"CSIS engages in mass surveillance with devastating and prolonged effects on Muslim communities. We found that mosques have been transformed into sites of surveillance rather than a safe place for religious worship and community gatherings.
Muslim youth in particular are heavily targeted by CSIS. Those who attend mosques, are involved in Muslim student organizations, attend Muslim gatherings or summer camps are frequently interrogated by CSIS, often without their parents’ permission."
