Canada, Harbouring Merchants of Death

"Oh Allah, destroy the Jews, oh Allah destroy the Jews ... oh Allah destroy them for they are no match for you."

"It's the young girls as well. Did you not hear that little girl say: 'I want to grow up, and I want to get married, and I want to give birth to and raise martyrs'."

"Yes, by Allah. What kind of bravery is that?"

Younus Kathrada, Imam, Dar al-Madinah Islamic Society

Younus Kathrada

"This guy needs to be arrested or deported, before he does something to hurt someone here in Canada", B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad wrote in a social media post that appeared as an end-note appended to a video of the sermon delivered on April 18 by Imam Kathrada who, in Arabic called for the destruction of Jews.

 

This man has amassed a long history of extremist Islamist rhetoric, but no government action has ever been taken over his advocating destruction of Israel, and death of Jews. His April 18 sermon had been uploaded to the social media channels of the Dar al-Ihsan Islamic Center in Victoria, British Columbia. A sermon where he gave effusive praise to the 'bravery' of Palestinian children as young as ten, primed to express a wish to become 'martyrs' in armed conflict with Israel.

 

The Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation announced on the weekend that it had taken steps to lodge a formal complaint with the Victoria Police Service, that the sermon had met the hate speech threshold and was thus a capital offence. The statements expressed by this imam -- and he is certainly not the only such faith leader in Islam to express such sentiments -- violate Section 318 of the Canadian Criminal Code. Prison terms of up to five years are prescribed for "every person who advocates or promotes genocide".

 

 

The "destroy the Jews" sermon was excerpted and a video circulated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) specializing in translations of extremist media from the Muslim world. MEMRI videos often feature Kathrada and his hate rants. In 2018 one of his sermons warned that any Muslim uttering 'Merry Christmas' is a sin ranked worse than adultery or murder, for a Muslim of faith. 

This imam informed his followers in 2018 that the federal election should be boycotted since each candidate standing for election in the Parliament of Canada was 'evil' for the sin of supporting homosexuality. "They are all evil. Every single one of them ... They are all evil and filthy", he stated, and none among  his followers should vote in the election.

 

After French school teacher Samuel Paty became a victim of murderous Islamism when he was beheaded in a terrorist attack in 2020, Kathrada spoke of Paty as a "filthy excuse of a human being", advocating a boycott of all French goods, praying for the destruction of the "enemies of Islam". "Oh Allah support those who wage jihad for your sake, everywhere".

 

Kathrada gave prayers on April 27 for the victory of the "mujahedeen" in Kashmir five days after Pakistani Islamists murdered 26 tourists in India-administered Kashmiri territory. His group, Muslim Youth of Victoria, received government grants, regardless. A combined $5,000 came courtesy of a City of Victoria fund purposed to support those who "own or operate cultural facilities". The group received grants from the Islamic Society of B.C., a federally registered charity.

 

South-African born, Kathrada has been making headlines since 2005 with his extremist Islamist rhetoric. Recordings of his sermons were replete with references to Jews as "the brothers of the monkeys and the swines". A security probe resulted, but no charges were ever laid.

 

 

"If a person were to commit every major sin ... lying, murder, committing adultery, dealing with interest."

"If a person were to do all of those major sins they are nothing compared to the sin of congratulating and greeting the non-Muslims on their false festivals [such as Christmas]."

Younus Kathrada