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Alabi frequently denied these requests or provided only momentary notice via text message before entering the apartment, the tribunal heard.

Once inside, another bone of contention often arose when Madkour or Ismail would request that people remove their shoes before walking through the unit.

The Qur’an states that the area in which prayers are conducted must be clean, the tribunal said, adding that potential contamination would result in extra work to cleanse the area.

In video evidence shown to the tribunal, Pickel said the couple is heard asking Alabi and a prospective tenant to remove their shoes before entering the bedroom, which they used as their prayer space.

Pickel’s decision said the video shows the prospective tenant wearing only socks, but clearly shows Alabi walking through the bedroom in shoes despite protests from Ismail, who is heard telling him that wearing footwear in the area is disrespectful.

Alabi told the tribunal that he ignored her request in order to avoid making a scene in front of the tenant and because he felt her stance was propaganda designed to make him look bad.

Pickel took a different view.

“I fail to see how such a request would make the respondent look bad if he complied with it,” she wrote. “If anything, it was the respondent’s non-compliance with the request that made him look bad in front of prospective tenants.”

She also pointed to some text messages sent to Madkour in response to his request for additional notice before an apartment viewing. One of those messages read “Welcome to Ontario, Canada,” prompting Pickel to find that Alabi was not respectful of the couple’s religious rights under the Human Rights Code.

She ordered Alabi to pay Madkour and Ismail $6,000 each, as well as to take an online course on human rights and rental housing.

Neither Alabi nor his legal representative immediately responded to request for comment.