Canada mosque vandalised in Islamophobic attack

A mosque in Canada is facing tens of thousands of dollars in damages after following an Islamophobic attack.

Several rooms were destroyed and vandalised at the Baitul Kareem Mosque in Cambridge, in what community leaders are calling a "cowardly act".

"The Muslim community in Canada has experienced a sharp increase in attacks against them after the London, Ont., massacre in June," the Coalition of Muslim Women K-W told CBC.

There was damage to the kitchen area, including the stove and other property.

The coalition also called for increased security around Muslim places of worship and said it "hopes the national summit against Islamophobia compels all forms of government to take actionable steps to stop the cycle of harassment and violence against Muslims".

"Any act of vandalism, especially in a place of worship, is a hateful act," said Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry, who visited the mosque.

“It's spiteful, it's mean, it's hateful and I think the important thing is members of our community feel safe."

Baitul Kareem worshippers forewent midday prayer and instead volunteered to clean the prayer space and the kitchen.

There is no information as yet about those responsible for vandalising the mosque, and the attack comes as Canada is set to hold a national summit on Islamophobia.

Last month MPs unanimously adopted a motion calling to "convene an Emergency National Action Summit on Islamophobia" following the killing of a family in a pre-meditated attack.

A man driving a pick-up truck slammed into and killed four members of a Muslim family in the south of Canada's Ontario province, in what police was a "premeditated" attack.

Twenty-year-old Nathaniel Veltman is suspected of ramming his pick-up truck into a family of Pakistani origin on the sidewalk of an intersection in the city of London, Ontario, authorities at the time said.

A 9-year old boy survived the attack but his parents, Salman Afzal, 46  and Madiha Afzali, 44 died alongside his 15-year-old sister Yumna and their 74-year -old grandmother, whose name has not been made public.