Latest news with #NCCM
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- General
- Toronto Sun
London police identify suspect in alleged hate-motivated incident
London police were seeking the public's assistance with locating a suspect in an alleged hate-motivated incident they say happened on Thursday May 29, 2025. (London police image) London police have charged a 34-year-old man after what they describe as a hate-motivated incident that happened last week. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account An arrest warrant has been issued for Joseph Howard Coddington, charged with assault and uttering threats after a man threatened to burn down an elderly woman's house near Marconi Boulevard and Trafalgar Street on the morning of May 29. Police said the man also tried to spit on the woman before walking away. Based on 'the nature of the comments made,' the incident was deemed hate-motivated, police had said at the time. The woman wasn't physically injured. In a social media post on May 31, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said the victim was Muslim and was told to 'go back to your country.' 'This has happened just days before we mark four years since a Muslim family of three generations were murdered in a terrorist attack in London,' the post added. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Police on Tuesday said Coddington's whereabouts were unknown. They describe him as white, five-foot-eight, 150 pounds, with short brown and blonde hair, scruffy facial hair and brown eyes. They urge anyone who sees him not to approach but to call 911. Anyone with information or relevant dashcam, doorbell or security footage is asked to contact police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). London police chief Thai Truong said Saturday that police are committed to working with the Muslim community to address Islamophobia. 'As we prepare to mark the anniversary of the tragedy that took the lives of Our London Family, this recent hate-motivated incident is a troubling reminder that the work to confront anti-Muslim hate is far from over,' he said. Friday marks four years since four members of the Afzaal family – a Muslim family out for an evening walk – were killed in what police called an Islamophobic terrorist attack. The case is one of several recent alleged hate crimes in London. Last June, a northwest London home where pro-Palestinian signs had been repeatedly vandalized was set on fire, causing $30,000 in damage. And in November, two employees at a south London Arabic grocery store were sprayed with a noxious substance by a masked man. bbaleeiro@ Columnists Other Sports Ontario Toronto & GTA Canada
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
Muslim groups calls for 'action' after London woman spit on in alleged hate crime
London police are investigating after a man threatened to set a woman's house on fire in an incident they are calling hate-motivated. Just after 8 a.m. on May 29, a man approached an elderly woman outside her residence near the intersection of Marconi Boulevard and Trafalgar Street in the city's east end. He began yelling at her, threatened to burn down her home and attempted to spit on her, police said, before walking away southbound on Marconi Boulevard. "The actual nature of the threats made were deemed to be hate-motivated," said Sgt. Sandasha Bough, adding that police will not share specific details until charges are laid. In a social media post, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said a Muslim woman was the person targeted in the attack, and was told to "go back to your country" among other hateful comments. 'The [Muslim] community is exhausted from having this conversation and having to repeat ourselves every time an incident like this occurs," said NCCM legal director Nusaiba Al-Azem, who received a report on the incident and has been in touch with the family since Thursday. "The family's feelings are very similar to the same feelings that I hear from the broader community," she said. The incident has been passed on to the London police's hate crime unit, who are still investigating. There were no reported injuries, police said. It does not appear that the man and woman knew each other previously, Bough said, and there is no immediate threat to the public "This was a random incident, or so it appears at this time," she said. Muslim community reflects as June marks anniversary of other hate-motivated attacks Still, members of London's Muslim community say they are uneasy, knowing that this is the latest in several hate-motivated incidents against the Muslim community. "I think people are concerned and a little frustrated as well," said Selma Tobah, a mentor with the Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia. "We're seeing that people are willing to put their threats into action." On Friday, it will be four years since a hate-motivated truck attack killed four members of a Muslim family in London, and Tobah said its impact is still felt by the community. "June 6 is a time where the broader London community remembers and reflects on what happened to Our London Family, but it really never leaves the forefront of the minds of Muslims in London," Tobah said. "We carry that incident with us in our day-to-day." "I know folks who don't run outside anymore, people who are careful about where in the city they go for a walk and how they cross the street," she added. June 11 will mark one year since a possible hate-motivated attack happened at another Muslim family's home in northwest London, where their front porch was set on fire. "We're talking about the same incident to a Muslim family in the same city at the same time of year," Al-Azem said. "It's hard not to feel like there's a pattern or maybe some kind of issue that is not being addressed. Both Tobah and Al-Azem said that while there has been more awareness around Islamophobia in London over the past four years, they would still like to see more political will to seriously punish hate-motivated attacks. "Instead of action, sometimes it feels like we get a lot of performance or we get a lot of words," Al-Azem said. "The fear is that there's a signal sent when you don't punish crime like this and when you don't bring somebody to justice," she said. "It will embolden others to behave the same way, and I fear that's what's happening in London." The male suspect in Thursday's incident is still at large, and police are asking for the public's assistance in identifying him. He is described as white, approximately 5'8" with a slim build and believed to be between the ages 27-32. He was last seen wearing a grey ballcap, work boots with red laces, and a yellow and black hoodie with "LOONEY" written across the chest in red.
National Post
27-04-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Barbara Kay: Crucial case challenges defamatory accusations of Islamophobia designed to intimidate and silence
Islamism — defined most benignly as 'the belief that Islam should influence political systems'— is, according to Joe Adam George, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute's National Security Analyst, the 'biggest existential threat to Canada within its borders.' Yet, in the English-language leaders' election debate, when Bloc Québécois leader François Blanchet dangled the word 'Islamism' for discussion, nobody took the bait. Article content Article content Article content Writing on the subject in these pages last year, George observed that, unlike China and Russia, 'what makes Islamists such a formidable force to reckon with is their ability to weaponize Islam to silence, punish and deter' their critics. One Islamist group, the politically influential National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), is particularly active on this front. Article content Article content Leaning on the charge of Islamophobia, the NCCM launched a successful campaign to oust human rights lawyer Collin May from his positions as director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunal (AHRC) shortly after his May 2022 appointment. Two weeks ago, the Lawfare Project and law firm Zacharias Vickers McCann LLP announced the filing of a defamation lawsuit against the NCCM on May's behalf. Article content May brought sterling qualifications to his appointment. He had already served three years as a part-time commissioner, had written over 40 published decisions and conducted more than 40 mediation sessions. He has degrees in political philosophy and religion, including the intellectual history of rights. May is the first openly gay man to serve in the role. Nevertheless, he is also philosophically conservative, which stirred complaints amongst progressives that his was a patronage appointment by Alberta's UCP government. Article content Article content The campaign to unseat May began in earnest, like so many cancel-culture witch hunts, with a deep dive into May's publishing history. In early July 2022, a NDP-affiliated blogger, Duncan Kinney (included as a separate defendant in the defamation suit), unearthed a positive 2009 review by May of the Yale University Press published book, Islamic Imperialism: A History, by Efraim Karsh, professor and head of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King's College London. Article content Article content In a blog post, Kinney criticized the review, citing an Edmonton Al Rashid Mosque Imam Sadique Pathan who criticized May's review of the book as 'binary thinking that is very convenient for people who engage in Islamophobia or outright racist views towards Muslims.' Article content May's ' rather esoteric ' review had not raised objections at the time, but in July, 2022, Kinney erroneously attributed May's summation of Karsh's view of Islam as 'one of the most militaristic religions known to man' directly to May, sparking NCCM's call on the government to rescind the appointment. Premier Jason Kenney instructed May to meet and make peace with the NCCM. May met with them, but stopped short of apologizing. The NCCM was not amused. Kenney fired May in September, 2022.
Egypt Today
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Today
National Council for Childhood foils marriage attempt of a 13-year-old girl in Sohag
CAIRO – 18 April 2025: The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) foiled an attempted marriage of a 13-year-old girl in a village in Dar El Salam, Sohag Governorate. This was done in cooperation with the Child Protection, Persons with Disabilities, and the Elderly Unit at the Public Prosecutor's Office, and in coordination with the Child Protection Unit in the governorate. Chairperson of the NCCM, Sahar El Sonbaty, explained that the incident stemmed from a report received by the General Administration for Child Rescue in early April stating that the girl's father intended to marry her to one of her 18-year-old cousins. Investigation and follow-up confirmed the veracity of the incident, and confirmed that the girl intended to marry under a customary marriage contract until she reached the legal age. The Council Chairperson directed that the necessary measures be taken quickly regarding the incident. The governorate's Child Protection Unit took all necessary measures to halt the marriage proceedings. The father signed a declaration stating that the marriage would not be completed until the girl reached the legal age. For his part, Sabry Othman, Director of the General Administration for Child Rescue, stated that this incident constitutes the crime of exposing a child to danger, in accordance with Article 96 of Child Law No. 12 of 1996, as amended by Law No. 126 of 2008. This is in addition to Article (80) of the Constitution, which stipulates the state's commitment to caring for children and protecting them from all forms of violence, abuse, and mistreatment. The Civil Status Law prohibits the documentation of marriage contracts for anyone under the age of 18, regardless of gender.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Victim speaks out after woman allegedly tried to light her hijab on fire inside Ajax library
A hijab-wearing woman who was nearly set on fire at an Ontario library over the weekend is speaking out about the "absolute horror" of what police have said was an unprovoked attack. The victim's statement was read aloud by a member of the advocacy group National Council of Canadian Muslims at a news conference on Monday afternoon. "I never imagined that a visit to my favourite, quiet corner of the library would turn into one of the most terrifying moments of my life," said the victim's statement read by senior advocacy officer Fatema Abdalla. Durham Regional Police say a woman was studying at the Ajax Public Library at noon on Saturday, when she was approached by an unknown woman yelling profanities at her and throwing objects at her head. Police say the 25-year-old suspect then tried to remove the woman's hijab while pouring an unknown liquid onto it. "I can't stop thinking, 'What if the lighter had worked? What if my hijab had caught on fire?'" said the victim's statement. Police said the suspect fled the library, but was arrested a few hours later and charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and three counts of failing to comply with probation order. NCCM CEO Stephen Brown said the organization is strongly urging police to investigate the incident as a hate crime. "It is an outrage that this kind of violence has become a regular occurrence in our community. Incidents of Islamophobia have increased exponentially in recent years. It is time for our elected leaders to step up and address this issue collaboratively." The NCCM's chief operating officer described the attack as "horrific." "I wasn't shocked, I was frustrated. I was angry that our community still has to deal with this type of behaviour — angry that we have been told by so many that Islamophobia doesn't exist," said Omar Khamissa. With the federal election approaching, the group said it's calling on all political parties to come up with detailed plans on how to address Islamophobia, pointing to the 2021 London, Ont., terror attack that killed four members of a Muslim family and the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting that left six men dead and 19 others injured as examples of hate turning deadly. The group also says its intake line has received hundreds of calls about Islamophobia-related incidents over the past year, though such incidents are likely underreported to police due to a lack of trust by communities. Durham Regional Police say officers responded to an assault call at the main branch of the Ajax Public Library at noon on Saturday. (Mike Cole/CBC) Ajax's deputy mayor Sterling Lee also spoke at Monday's news conference, calling the incident a "shocking reminder" that the community "is not immune to the intolerance and hatred that persist in our world." The Town of Ajax released a statement on Sunday saying: "The library strives to be a safe and welcoming space for everyone, and acts of hate and violence will not be tolerated in any town facility or public space."
