Canadian Muslim schools targeted by hate email

Canadian police on Friday said they are investigating threatening emails sent to Islamic schools across the country that vowed to “slaughter” Muslims.

The emails were received by nine private schools run by the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) in the Toronto area, while similar messages were also sent to schools in other parts of Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, the Toronto Star reported.

The email was signed by an anonymous “Citizen Vigilante” and threatened the “slaughter” of Muslims so that Canada would become “Islam free,” according to the Canadian Press.

The message also mentioned the Alberta separatist movement, saying that when Alberta “becomes its own nation,” Muslims would be “deported or slaughtered.”

In the Toronto area, police said on US social media company X that they had increased their presence overnight at mosques and schools.

Ottawa Police Service said it had also increased its presence around religious and educational institutions.

“As a precaution, police visibility remains increased around religious institutions and the educational facility that received the complaint,” the service said in a statement reported by CBC News. “At this time, we have no information indicating a specific or imminent threat to religious or educational institutions in Ottawa.”

A spokesperson for MAC said the organization had received hateful comments on social media before, but not on such a scale.

“Such a disturbing email to be received by teachers and administrators, and families and children, really makes it difficult for us to live as a community feeling good about ourselves, feeling that we are welcomed in this society,” Nabil Sultan told CBC News.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) denounced the mass threat in a post on social media.

"It is utterly horrifying and disgusting to witness this mass death threat issued to Islamic schools across Ontario," said the Muslim advocacy group. "We have now witnessed, in Canada, several overt calls of violence aimed at Muslims and Muslim communities. This is a threat that puts our broader social fabric in great danger. It must be addressed with the utmost urgency and seriousness.”

The group demanded Canadian officials to condemn the incident and asked them to "sit down with community members to build a National Strategy on Combatting Islamophobia."