EDMONTON—A fire at a mosque in Edson on Saturday night has Alberta’s Muslim population concerned about rising anti-Islamic sentiments in the province.

On Sunday, Edson RCMP announced it was investigating the incident as an arson.

Adil Hasan, vice-president of civic engagement with Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council in Edmonton, said that after first feeling shock from news of the fire, he was concerned that something like this could happen so close to home.

“This is part of an unfortunate trend that we’re seeing of Islamophobic and racist events increasing,” Hasan said. “It’s all testament to the fact that events like this are on the rise.”

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A figure was seen on surveillance video leaving the Edson mosque shortly after the fire broke out on the night of June 16, 2018. (Supplied by Jocelyn Pettitt, a board member of the Islamic Society of Edson.)

Security footage from the incident showed a figure with a bag walking away from the mosque moments after the fire broke out, and Toufik Baterdouk, vice-president of the Islamic Society of Edson and Masjid, said that the mosque’s front door, where the flames ignited, smelled of gasoline.

The fire, which broke out on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, a three-day Islamic holiday celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, caused damage to the mosque’s entrance, but no one was injured.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has registered the fire as an “anti-Muslim incident” on its website, which tracks and maps similar incidents across the country. The website recognizes the Edson incident as the 10th in Canada this year, and the fourth in Alberta.

According to the website’s map, anti-Islamic incidents have been on the rise since 2013, when it started keeping track. Last year, the website logged 70 incidents across Canada.

Hasan, who visited the mosque in 2016, said the incident immediately reminded him of the Quebec City mosque shooting in January 2017, which saw six people die. Sentencing arguments for Alexandre Bisonette, the man who pled guilty to six charges of first-degree murder in connection to the incident, are expected to begin Monday.

However, Hasan said, he was appreciative of the political support from all levels of government that have spoken out against the fire, including Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, federal Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale, and Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara.

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On Monday, Zahara told StarMetro Edmonton that he was thankful the fire was an isolated incident in the town, located about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.

“We’re all troubled by the incident, but luckily this was the only incident in the last five years since the mosque has been opened,” Zahara said. “I know that everybody will band together and support our Muslim community. They’re our friends, they’re our neighbours, they’re highly involved in our community and we really value their contributions.”

“As a society, as a community, we need to figure out how to combat racism, discrimination, Islamophobia, in a more upfront manner,” Hasan added. “Leadership like that will help us move this forward and help start the conversation in terms of what next steps can happen.”

With files from The Canadian Press

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