EDMONTON—When Ahmad Akkashe first saw the words, “kill Muslims” and “kill Lebs” spray-painted on the window of his west Edmonton business Monday morning, he didn’t believe it was real.

“I was in disbelief. The thing that caught my focus at first was the swastikas. That was disturbing,” Akkashe said.

It didn’t help that he had his 4-year-old son with him at the time.

“My son asked me, ‘What’s written on your windows?’ So I had to lie to him. I told it him it says, ‘thank you’ and ‘Merry Christmas.’ And even he didn’t believe me,” said Akkashe, owner of Chop Shop Barbershop.

Now the Edmonton business owner, who has operated out of the location for eight years, is trying to turn a negative into a positive by using the event as an opportunity to host a hate-crimes awareness event.

“I want to turn this into a unity thing. For all of us to look past these biased, superficial things,” Akkashe said. “Given the time of year, when the best of people comes out … I want people to remember that we’re here for each other. Not what one person stands for.”

Edmonton police confirmed its hate crimes unit is investigating. It’s the second time in the past two weeks the neighbourhood has seen such an incident — on Nov. 27, someone spray-painted “kill Muslims” and “Hitler Lives” on the walls of Aldergrove School, which is just down the street.

That incident is also under investigation.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this has happened at an Edmonton public school this school year,” an Edmonton Public Schools spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “It’s unacceptable and disturbing. We’re disappointed this type of racist graffiti is still present.”

Bassam Hamdan, a friend of Akkashe who grew up in the area, said he was shocked when he heard about it. He said it makes him worried for his own family who live in the area, and who are Muslim.

“It’s very concerning. We lived and grew up in this place. I was born and raised in Edmonton. And then you see this stuff and you’re like, ‘What the hell just happened?’” he said.

Akkashe, who was born in Edmonton but grew up in Lebanon, isn’t sure if his business was targeted by someone who knows him, if it was a local youth, or if it was someone who just assumed his religion and ancestry.

He said he erased the graffiti as soon as police gave him the green light because he was worried kids entering the nearby daycare would see it.

“It was, I don’t want to say embarrassing, but I took it down as fast as I could because I don’t want to disturb the neighbourhood,” he said.

He said the incident itself didn’t make him angry, but he’s saddened by what he believes is an image of Muslims linked with terrorism, perpetuated by the media.

“Personally, it bugs me that people don’t know the goodness of our faith, and what we actually really are,” Akkashe said.

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He said his faith teaches him to be patient, to not retaliate, and to reach out to others. It’s why he’s working with the Muslim Students Association at MacEwan University to host a hate-crimes awareness event in the near future.

“It takes a lot for people to recognize we have a problem,” Akkashe said.

Akkashe is encouraged by the response he’s received from his customers, fellow business owners, and even community members he doesn’t know.

“I don’t want people to look at me as a victim,” he said. “A lot of the people from the community came by and offered their support and their help. I had people offering to help scrape it off, from all cultures and faiths.”

Akkashe said the hate-crimes awareness event will be addressed toward people of all faiths, noting he’s seen similar messages scrawled on local churches and synagogues.

“You don’t know what it feels like until you’re actually the victim. So I just want to say I know how it feels.”

Most importantly, he wants to set an example for his son.

“Honestly, I feel really good about making this into an opportunity,” Akkashe said. “Given that everything is happening in the world, and with the recession we’ve had, people are struggling. And when people have financial need, they kind of turn against each other. So I think this is perfect timing for this.”

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