30 Masjids 🟩

I… I… Dear 30 Masjids Family, I’d like to think by now, that some of you who have been reading and following the 30 Masjids website with these blog posts of mine, might feel as yeah, we are somehow some kind of online Family.

It ended in Edmonton with a Father, a Husband, A Black Man, A Black Muslim Man having his and his family’s Eid Al Fitr destroyed.

“When I saw her hand touch the police’s shoulder in a last ditch effort to make him listen I just started crying.

“I know exactly what that meant.

“When you feel completely helpless to stop something terrible and know that any wrong move could increase the likelihood of it happening.

“So glad he survived and I’m heartbroken that that’s what it comes to.

“I’m so sorry those babies had to see that and that this family went through it.

“Allah bring them peace, protection, and justice Ameen.”

— Sister Qoqa

Ameen.

“Wow.

Edmonton Police Service

You guys come to iftaar with our community for publicity during Ramadan,

But then go and do this?

“You will never have the full support of the Muslim community,

Unless this is addressed properly with the appropriate consequences.”

— Abdul Khurshed

“PR: NCCM OUTRAGED AFTER BLACK MUSLIM EDMONTONIAN LEAVING EID FRIDAY PRAYER SUBJECTED TO EXCESSIVE FORCE BY EDMONTON POLICE

Officer Placed Knee on the Neck of Victim after Allegedly Going 47 km/h in a 30 zone

(Edmonton — April 23, 2023)

The National Council of Canadian Muslims is greatly disturbed and concerned in relation to the case of an Edmonton man who was apparently subjected to excessive force by Edmonton Police Service officers after being pulled over on the day of Eid with his family.

The victim, who will not be named to protect his family’s privacy, is a Black Muslim man who has been a long-time resident of Edmonton.

On April 21, the victim was leaving a Southside mosque in his vehicle after praying the congregational Friday prayer on the day of Eid with his family, including his wife and young children.

They were expecting a day of joy and celebration.

Instead, the victim was pulled over by EPS officers for allegedly going 47 km/h in a 30 zone.

The victim was easily identifiable as Muslim given that he was wearing traditional clothing, including a turban and a thobe.

The victim allegedly noticed that the officer appeared to be agitated, and so requested a supervisor to be present before providing his license and all identifying information.

The officers then violently pulled the victim out of the car and put him in a restraint position, with one of the officers putting their knee on the victim’s neck.

The victim suffered a number of injuries as a result of the assault, and his family have suffered significant mental distress, including his young children.

“Make no mistake about it” said Said Omar, NCCM’s Alberta Advocacy Officer, “Having a knee violently pinned on the back of a man’s neck over an alleged minor speeding infraction – there were no Criminal Code charges – could have, as all Canadians know, produced far more tragic results”.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims is supporting the victim legally and providing other critical supports.

The NCCM has reached out to Edmonton Police Services and has begun a discussion with EPS leadership, which we hope will result in a positive result for the victim.

We want answers.

And we want justice.

If you were a witness to this event, please contact us at info@nccm.ca”

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A post shared by NCCM (@nccm_community)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NCCM (@nccm_community)

“We note that EPS put out a statement disputing the factual narrative that led to the violent knee on neck incident of a Black Muslim man on Eid.

This is unsurprising, but still saddening.

It is especially saddening given that at the victim’s request, we urged EPS to work with the victim to get to a just resolution.

It is important to clarify two important factual issues:

1) We did formally give notice to EPS this morning that we will be filing a formal complaint to the PSB. During that process, evidence will be weighed and adduced, and the victim will fully cooperate with that process.

2. We also offered to provide a full unedited copy of the video to EPS, but asked that there were assurances of confidentiality and non-disclosure since there is video of the victim’s children in the video. EPS did not feel they could guarantee that confidentiality.

Therefore, the client did not choose to provide the full video in that time, but will provide the full video to the PSB as well as other critical pieces of evidence.

We note the narrative suggested by EPS in terms of a refusal to cooperate with police by the victim.

We believe that the client’s narrative of events will be borne out by the evidence (such as the request by the victim for a supervisor when his license was requested).

While we wait for this matter to be resolved before a more formal legal process, we leave it to Albertans and Canadians to determine whether a speeding violation requires escalation to the point of putting a knee to the neck of the victim.

We remain open to dialogue with EPS, as well as all Albertans who are committed to making sure that an incident like this never happens again.”

— NCCM

“Omar tells CityNews the incident was particularly shocking because it happened on Eid, a day of celebration that marks the end of Ramadan.

“Having such a violent arrest happen in front of his children, in front of his wife – as you can see from the video, she was horrified – I can imagine going forward, every Eid, the kids will probably remember this,” he said.

“This will be very difficult for them to get over.

“The family has suffered significant mental distress, including his young children unfortunately.”

Distrust of police within the community

The NCCM says it’s received many calls from community members following the incident.

“People want answers,” said Omar.

“People want to know how this resulted in someone being dragged out of the car, an officer placing a knee on his neck.

“This could have resulted in the victim losing his life for a minor infraction, a speeding ticket, it’s uncalled for.

“The community is frustrated… They want justice.”

“A staff lawyer with the NCCM says the incident has created distrust between the community and police.

“This just proves more work needs to be done,” said Dalal Souraya.

That same concern was echoed by University of Alberta criminology professor Temitope Oriola.

“Quite frankly this kind of incident make nonsense of all the community outreach that the police regularly conduct,” he said.

“What is the essence of all those efforts and resources in our schools, community events and so forth when we keep having this kind of incident?”

The NCCM says it intends to support the victim legally.

It also says it’s reached out to Edmonton police and has begun a discussion with the force’s leadership.

Souraya wonders what type of training is being done within Edmonton’s police force.

“To make sure excessive use isn’t being used, especially in instances where we’re dealing with a man with kids in his car,” she said.

“It brings up a bigger question of use of force.””

“April 27, 2023

NDP Statement on violent police encounter in Edmonton

We are shocked to learrn about the outrageous treatment that a Black Muslim man was subjected to, at the hands of local police officers in Edmonton last Friday after Eid al-Fitr prayer.

Edmonton Police Services (EPS) needs to ensure that officers are not using undue force or dangerous knee-on-neck restraint on people in our city, and that officers are acting with respect in all their interactions with members of the Muslim community and others.

New Democrats call for an independent investigation into this incident and for EPS to hold their officers accountable for their actions.

It is particularly disturbing to learn of this incident, considering the release today of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team’s (ASIRT) report finding an EPS officer “showed a shocking lack of judgment and disregard for… life”when he kicked an Indigenous teenager in the head in 2020.

We are deeply concerned by the rise in hate-motivated attacks across the country, especially in Edmonton. Members of religious minority communities and racialized individuals are entitled to humane treatment and equal protection by law enforcement officers. Anything less is unacceptable.

We are committed to the fight to eradicate Islamophobia and all forms of racism and discrimination, so that all Canadians feel safe in their communities.

[ Signed ]
Blake Desjarlais
Member of Parliament
Edmonton Griesbach

[ Signed ]
Heather McPherson
Member of Parliament
Edmonton Strathcona”