Article content continued

Police in many cities across the country said they were stepping up patrols around places of worship on Friday and communicating with local Muslim communities about their security concerns.

“We will have a heightened police presence in the community, focusing on places of worship — especially mosques. We have done this to ensure the city is as safe and secure as possible,” said Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook, a Toronto police spokeswoman.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

In Halifax, Imam Abdallah Yousri of the Umma Mosque said no special precautions were being taken, but he confirmed that the site, with a capacity of 2,000, already has a good security system.

“We will have discussions about that to see how we can enhance our security systems to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen in the future,” he said in an interview.

He said some members called to see whether prayers would go ahead as scheduled on Friday, and he assured them the mosque would be open. “It’s always a special day on Fridays,” he said. “We pray every Friday.”

Rabia Khedr, executive director of the Muslim Council of Peel, said the early news about Christchurch immediately brought to mind the Quebec City shooting.

“I didn’t sleep all night,” Khedr said. “I cannot believe the number of people that have been killed, the number of people that have been injured.”

She said an attack on Muslims in a western nation hits harder.

“When it hits a Muslim majority country we feel sad, we feel sorrow, however that feeling is a little different in a western democracy where we are minorities,” she said. “Because it’s pure and utter hatred. It’s Islamophobia in its ugliest form.”