The attack on a Western University student from Iran, being probed by London police hate crime officers, is a “wake-up call” for London, Mayor Matt Brown says.
“This is . . . another wake-up call for all of us, that racism exists in 2016, and it’s our collective responsibility to address it,” Brown said Thursday from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference in Winnipeg.
“I’m deeply concerned and saddened to learn this act occurred in London. Islamophobia has no place in London, in Ontario, in Canada, or anywhere . . . We need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as Londoners and clearly communicate this type of hate won’t be tolerated.”
Mohammad Sharifi, a PhD student from Tehran, was sitting with his girlfriend at Covent Garden Market Saturday when he was pushed to the ground and punched by two men who he says called him “Arab,” and told him to go back to his country.
The incident put London in the national spotlight.
Categories: Americas, Canada, Hate Crime, Islamophobia, The Muslim Times