Mosque vandalized in Montreal's Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood

A Montreal mosque was vandalized Thursday, thesame day that thousands of people of different faiths attended a funeralelsewhere in Montrealfor the victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting.

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Police said that between 7and 8a.m.an employee at the KhadijahMasjidIslamic Centre in Montreal'sPointe-Sainte-Charlesneighbourhood discovered a window had been smashed with a heavy object. The building had also been egged.

Montreal police spokesmanDaniel Lacoursiresaid the vandalism is being investigated as a hate crime, althoughanother motive is possible.

The directorof the mosque,Ashek Ahmad, told CBC Newsthe mosque had been spray-painted with graffiti a few days ago. He said he didn't think anything of that incidentuntil the vandalism escalated this morning.

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Ahmad had attended the Montreal funeral for the victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting. When he got home, he told his 20-year-old daughter,FatimaAhmad, that their mosque had been the target of vandalism.

"I was shocked and then scared," she told CBC News.

"I don't know what's going to happen next. Is this the end, or the beginning of something?"

Fatima Ahmad describes the vandalism at her mosque

8 years ago

Duration 0:37

A Montreal mosque was vandalized Thursday, the same day that thousands of people of all faiths attended a funeral elsewhere in Montreal for the victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting.

Fatima Ahmad,a first-year student at McGill University,saidthat she saw an outpouring of support following the Quebec City attack Sunday.

"But I also seethe hate doesn't seem to end."

Musabbir Alam,co-founder of the Canadian Muslim Alliance,was at the funeral for the Quebec City mosque victimstoday when he found out the Pointe-Saint-Charlesmosque had been vandalized.

"We were not expecting that,on the same day," Alam told CBC News.

"It's kind of ironic that it could happen. On the one side, we're actually celebrating solidarity, and the other side, this is happening."

Craig Sauv,the city councillor for Montreal's Southwest borough,called it an act of terrorism.

"You know why? The congregation of Khadijah Mosque on Centre Street are our sisters and brothers," Sauv said in a statement on his Facebookpage.

"They are members of the Pointe-Sainte-Charles community."

Whoever committed thevandalism is a "small-minded xenophobe" who does not speak for the community, he said.

A solidarity rally will be held in the neighbourhood, at the corner of Ropery and Centre streets,at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon.

The MP forVille-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-le-des-Soeurs, Marc Miller, condemned the vandalism in a tweet this afternoon.