To the passerby, the police presence in and outside the Al Jamia Masjid mosque on West Eighth Avenue Thursday could have signaled that something serious and untoward had occurred.
Even Police Chief Adam Palmer was there.
But a look inside the basement of the mosque, where Palmer and some of his highest-ranking officers assembled with Muslim community leaders, revealed that something different was going on.
The embrace between Palmer and Haroon Khan, a trustee of the mosque, gave it away.
“Good to see you, thanks so much for having us,” Palmer said.
“Thanks for coming,” replied Khan, whose father was one of the founders of the mosque when it opened in 1963.
The two leaders were there to partake in a bit of history. It was the first time in recent memory that the Vancouver Police Board had held one of its regular meetings at a mosque.
For the board, which is comprised of private citizens and chaired by Mayor Gregor Robertson, it is rare to meet outside the VPD’s Cambie Street precinct. It’s also rare to meet in places of worship, with only the Ross Street Temple being the other.
In the past decade, the board has met at community centres and several times on the reserve of the Musqueam Indian Band. The joint decision to meet at Al Jamia Masjid came after an impromptu community gathering in January outside the mosque after six men were gunned down at a mosque in Quebec City.
Quebec City terrorist attack
.@VancouverPD @ChiefPalmer: no specific threats in #yvr, but understands people shaken. Pledges police will work to keep people safe pic.twitter.com/w5JIolFNDI
— Simon Little (@simonplittle) January 31, 2017
Palmer and Robertson attended the vigil, along with a large crowd, to pay respects to those who died and to stand together against hate and racism, which continues in Vancouver; the mosque’s front doors were splattered with red paint after the bombing in May in Manchester and, a couple of years ago, someone tried to set a fire outside the building.
The board also heard Thursday, during a presentation from an officer who works closely with the Muslim community, that police investigated 16 reported hate crimes against Muslims last year, and another four this year.
“The stereotyping is out there — there are ignorant people out there,” said Khan, prior to the meeting. “There are people out there who are fostering hate and intolerance through their words and their actions. When they stereotype Muslims as crazy people, it’s wrong, it’s not true and we have to do the best that we can to show who we are.”
Over the years, the mosque has served as a homeless shelter, has organized food drives for low-income people and discussed Islam with other faiths, including supporting workshops to unravel questions groups have about what it is to be Muslim.
Ihsan Malik, chairperson of the mosque, said having police officers and the police board meet at the mosque was important to give others a sense of Muslims’ “cultural sensitivities and religious barriers.”
He pointed out that when people participated in the vigil outside the mosque in January, many were curious about the building and what went on inside.
“That tells you there is still very limited knowledge out there of Islam,” Malik said. “What people see on TV is what they perceive Islam to be. But it is not like that. Islam is a very beautiful religion, very peaceful.”
Hate crimes
Malik and Khan described the Muslim community’s relationship with the VPD as “very good,” although Malik said he wants to see more Muslim officers on the force. He said he knows of two Muslim officers.
The VPD was unable to provide a count of Muslim officers before the posting of this story but it was noted at the meeting that a recruiting session is planned for a mosque in Burnaby.
The board heard from two young Muslim girls who are members of a VPD cadet program. Both spoke of how safe and accepted they feel in the program, with one talking about the fear she has when she leaves the house in her hijab; she’s been spat on and called names during her bus ride to school.
Robertson, who listened to both girls’ brief speeches, said he continues to be concerned about racism in Vancouver and acknowledged hate crimes are underreported in the city.
“We need to be going after that, every chance we have,” the mayor said.
Palmer agreed that hate crimes go unreported, but he said that happens for all types of crime. The chief said it is possible hate crime statistics against Muslims could increase in the future as the department continues to do more outreach in the community.
“If we let the community know that we want to hear from them — that we want to break down those barriers and let them know that they can trust the police — you may actually see numbers go up,” he said.
Police board member Barj Dhahan, who is of the Sikh faith, said the board and police department continues to strive to be inclusive of all communities in Vancouver, with the main focus being public safety. He foresees the board holding future meetings with other faith-based groups at their buildings.
“If there is a divine power, it is one divine power,” Dhahan said. “We may experience it differently, we may have different rituals, different beliefs, different ways. But at the end of the day, it’s all about being together in the city of Vancouver as one community, as well as honouring and respecting our differences, too.”
@Howellings
