ARPCF Condemns Anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic Graffiti Attack on Montreal Mosque

The mosque was defaced with the words “F--- Gaza” in blue spray paint—an obscene and disturbing expression of both anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia, especially given the context of Israel’s genocidal violence against Palestinians in Gaza. This attack has deeply shaken Montreal’s Muslim and Palestinian communities, and it reflects a broader climate in which expressions of Palestinian identity, solidarity, or Muslim religious life are increasingly met with hate and hostility.

“This graffiti isn’t just a slur against Gaza—it’s a threat against every Muslim and Palestinian in Canada who dares to exist, speak out, or worship in public,” said Jamila Ewais, Lead Researcher at the ARPCF. “It reflects a climate where Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism go unchecked, where places of worship become battlegrounds for political hate, and where Canadians who defend Palestinian human rights are treated as enemies,” added Ewais. ARPCF notes that since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023, hate crimes against Muslim and Arab communities have surged in Montreal and across Canada, while elected officials have largely failed to condemn anti-Palestinian bigotry with the same urgency shown to other forms of hate.

“While this incident is being investigated as a hate crime, it is critical to name what it truly represents: a convergence of anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Muslim hatred. The perpetrator’s assumption—that Muslims are inherently Palestinian, and Palestinians inherently Muslim—reflects a dangerous erasure of Palestinian diversity and conflates a religious identity with a national one. Palestinians come from multiple faith traditions, including Christianity and Islam, and this act not only criminalizes political identity but also exposes the racist belief that all Muslims are foreign, militant, or tied to conflict abroad,” said Ewais.

The ARPCF urges all levels of government to denounce this incident clearly and unequivocally, and to recognize anti-Palestinian racism as a systemic issue. Governments must take urgent steps to protect Muslim and pro-Palestinian communities from escalating threats—including enhanced protection of religious and community spaces, proper enforcement of hate crime laws, and the formal integration of anti-Palestinian racism into anti-racism policies and education. Every community deserves to feel safe, to express their identity, and to worship freely—without being targeted for who they are or what they believe.