OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada has apologized to a Muslim man and “the entire Muslim community” after an incident Monday in which the man was told he could not pray at the station in Canada’s capital city.
CTV News reports that the Toronto man was waiting for a delayed bus. He told the news organization that he found an empty hallway, prayed for a few minutes, then returned to his luggage and a co-worker. He was then approached by a security guard who said he could not pray in the station. Videos of the incident said the guard told the man, “We don’t want you praying in here. You’re bothering our other customers, OK? … Pray outside next time.”
VIA, in a statement issued Monday, said it was “dismayed” to learn of the incident, and said it wanted “to apologize unreservedly to the individuals involved and to the entire Muslim community.” Noting that freedom of religion is a human right and is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, VIA said it “strongly condemns and will not tolerate any form of discriminatory behaviour.
“We take this situation very seriously and are currently investigating the incident and will take the appropriate actions pending the outcome of that investigation.”
The man, Ahmed, who asked that CTV not use his last name, said other VIA employees at the station defended the guard and that he felt VIA was not genuinely sorry.
“For certain people to say you can’t participate and practicing your religion it was like… a spit in the face,” he said. “The apology is cool, but what are you really going to do to make this right?
“I’m not impressed with your little six-sentence apology.”
The CBC reports that the National Council of Canadian Muslims is calling for more than an apology.
“We’re moving to see more than just words,” said spokeswoman Fatema Abdalla.
“What we need to see is is commitments to change, and commitments to anti-Islamophobia training, anti-racism training and diversity training that can provide security guards and and others at the stations some more knowledge on how to treat individuals who are just peacefully minding their own business and praying in a corner.”
— Updated March 22 at 7:50 a.m. with comment from National Council of Canadian Muslims.
