The borough of Outremont is defending its decision to hastily cancel an event planned by a Muslim group at its community centre.
Borough mayor Marie Cinq-Mars told reporters Saturday morning that as the borough understood it, the event was supposed to be a diploma presentation ceremony for a language school.
However, following the broadcast of TVA report alleging members of the group were “religious radicals,” Cinq-Mars had the borough’s director-general cancel the group’s reservation at the Intergenerational Community Centre on McEachran Ave.
"When we heard there were people coming here that were [controversial], we thought it would be safer to cancel the event," she said.
Cinq-Mars suggested it's possible the group misrepresented itself and its intentions when it booked the space, but did not say what independent measures, if any, the borough undertook to verify the claims in the TV report.
The group was informed by email Friday night and by phone Saturday morning about the borough’s decision, and "understood," Cinq-Mars said.
TVA reported the event was organized by MISHKA, or the l’Académie de la charia nord-américaine. That name did not appear on the booking, the borough said.
Cinq-Mars also said regardless of the type of group, the borough shouldn't ever rent out space for religious or political events.
“I think … that religious events should occur in places of worship, and this is not a place of worship,” she said in reference to the community centre.
Salam Elmenyawi, head of the Muslim Council of Montreal, says he is very upset about the decision.
He says there's a "paranoia" and "hysteria" in Quebec right now surrounding the Muslim community and he says "sensational, inflammatory" news reports are partly to blame.
One of the imams at the centre of this controversy is Salah Assawy, a man Elmenyawi says he knows personally. Elmenyawi says Assawy is considered by the community to be a respected scholar, not a radical one.
The Quebec Collective Against Islamophobia says it believes certain media outlets have an agenda, and as a result the Muslim community is facing unfair scrutiny.
“We think that in Quebec today we are living through a new form of McCarthyism against the Muslim community. This is a witch hunt and it has to stop immediately,” said spokesperson Adil Charkaoui.
Charkaoui says the decision to cancel the event wasn't right.
“We have many mayors taking decisions without consulting the Muslim community and this is totally unacceptable,” he said.
Still, mayor Cinq-Mars defends the borough's decision, citing public security concerns.
"We are in a context where we have to be careful, we have to make everyone safe. We have to take the good decisions," she said.
