Hate on wheels: Van playing Islamophobic video drives around Toronto

Toronto police are conducting a hate crime probe into an advertising van driving around Canada’s largest city playing an “Islamophobic” video, news outlets have reported.

A video posted on social media on Wednesday shows a cube van playing a video that questions “Is this Yemen? Is this Syria? Is this Iraq?” It then displays Muslims at prayer accompanied by a text that says: “Wake up Canada. You are under siege.”

The outside of the van has “Is this Lebanon?” written on the vehicle’s back and side.

“This is extremely dangerous messaging and should not be condoned,” the National Council of Canadian Muslims posted on X. “We have seen Islamophobic hate kill in Canada, including in Ontario.”

Past violence

Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combatting Islamophobia, told CTV News that the incident has engendered fear in the Muslim community, given the history of past violence.

“We have been on edge when it comes to hate targeting our communities, and this is just one more example of why people are worried,” she said. “We do not want to see another Quebec Mosque massacre or a London family attack.”

In January 2017, a man gunned down six Muslims and wounded 19 while they were at prayer in the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City. On June 6, 2021 in London, Ontario, a driver rammed his pickup truck into a Muslim family of five, killing four of them.

Anti-Muslim hate speech online has increased by 500 percent, with a dramatic jump since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza last year, Elghawaby noted.

The Toronto Police Hate Crime Unit posted on X that “we recognise the community’s concern” and asked anyone with information on the van to contact them.