EDMONTON—Police are investigating after members of a local Islamophobic group entered the Al Rashid Mosque in north Edmonton on Friday.

Noor Al-Henedy, a spokesperson for the mosque, said members of the Wolves of Odin group asked pointed questions in a clear attempt to “provoke” worshippers.

She said two men entered the mosque on Friday, the day Muslims gather to worship in public. The men were wearing toques that said “Kafir” in Arabic, which translates to infidel or non-believer. Other members of the group are pictured in a Facebook video standing directly outside the mosque and asking members questions about Islam.

Al-Henedy said it looked like the two men who entered the mosque were “surveilling” the building.

“Right away we reported it to the police and looked at the (camera) footage we had. You don’t come inside the mosque with a toque that says infidel on it. We can’t just assume everything is fine … Our No. 1 priority was to ensure our people here feel safe,” Al-Henedy said.

Bridget Stirling, co-founder of an Edmonton-based group called Hate Free Yeg, posted her concerns about the video circulating on Facebook on Twitter.

“This group continues to try to terrorize immigrant and Muslim communities in our city and engages in homophobic harassment. Every decent Edmontonian should be concerned when hate groups begin to march openly in our streets,” she said.

Edmonton police confirmed they’re investigating the incident after receiving a “trouble with persons” call at the Al Rashid Mosque.

Tyson Hunt, one of the people who entered the mosque and who posted the video of Wolves of Odin members debating worshippers outside, told StarMetro his group was just there to ask questions and learn more about the religion.

“This is a free country, and I can question what I want,” he said.

The Wolves of Odin is an Edmonton-based splinter group of the Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant group based in Finland. They rebranded as Wolves of Odin after attracting controversy by posing with United Conservative Party members, and most recently presented themselves as Canadian Infidels. That’s after the Finland-based group distanced themselves from the Canadian chapter following the UCP controversy.

On Tuesday, a member of the Facebook group Ty’s Canadian Infidels, which Hunt said he manages, posted a Google Maps screenshot pinpointing various mosques in Edmonton, accompanied by the caption, “Something to chew on.”

Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said their hate crimes and violent extremism unit is investigating the mosque incident and is aware of the recent online activity.

“The unit is aware of the recent activities of these groups and is monitoring them,” Voordenhout said.

Hunt insists he is not anti-Islam but against all religions in general. He said he posted the Google Maps screenshot because he was “surprised by how many mosques are in town.”

He said he’s not sure why that would make community members concerned, or why the mosque would be concerned with their presence.

“We all had cameras, we all made sure everything was recorded for police reasons,” he said.

Hunt said he and his group went to the mosque to ask questions about the faith.

“There was no provocation. It was questions,” he said.

A video posted by Ty’s Canadian Infidels shows them asking a Muslim community member, “What are they supposed to do to blasphemers?”

A man in the nine-minute video accuses the Wolves of Odin members of being disingenuous about their desire to “gain knowledge” because they’re wearing a hat that says infidels.

“I’m going to continue this conversation if you can show me you have one bit of knowledge,” the man, who identifies himself as Warren Wheeler in the video, says.

“But what are they supposed to do to non-believers?” the Wolves of Odin member responds.

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Al-Henedy said she does see the incident as an attempt to provoke, and while they’re always happy to discuss religion with members of other faiths, this was not the right approach.

“We’re Edmontonians, we’ve been here for 80 years and we’re proud to be part of the community,” she said of the mosque, which is the oldest in Canada.

“What we care about the most is the security of the people who do come through our doors. That’s what we’re focused on — not creating fear in our community.”

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