Via Rail is apologizing after a video surfaced online of a Muslim man being told he couldn’t pray inside┬аthe Ottawa train station, but the National Council of Canadian Muslims says an apology isn’t enough.
The video, which was posted on┬аthe social media platform TikTok on┬аMarch┬а20, shows a man┬аwearing a reflective vest marked ‘security’┬аapproaching a┬аman in a black sweater seated in a waiting area.
“You wanted me to say something?” the security guard asks the man.
“That I took two minutes to pray?┬аWhat was your issue?” the man in the sweater asks.
Then the security guard is┬аheard saying, “Don’t pray in here. We don’t want you praying here. You’re bothering our other customers, OK?”
The man in the sweater, who CBC┬аNews has not yet identified, responds:┬а“I went to the end of the hallway. Not one person had anything to say.” The security guard cuts him off,┬аsaying, “Pray outside next time, OK?”┬а
When the man refuses, the video shows the security guard┬аthreatening to tell the man’s employer about the incident. “Go ahead. You’re going viral right now, no worries,” the man responds┬аas the guard walks┬аaway from him.
After the video went viral online, Via┬аRail issued a statement saying it’s “dismayed,” and that it’s┬аapologizing “unreservedly … to the entire Muslim community.”
“Freedom of religion, including the ability to worship, is a human right and is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” the statement reads.
“Via┬аRail strongly condemns and will not tolerate any form of discriminatory behaviour.”
‘Disrespectful’ and ‘racist’ situation
What transpired in the moments before the video was recorded is unclear.
CBC News has blurred the faces of both┬аmen, because it’s┬аalso unclear whether the security guard was acting on instructions from someone else or his own accord, and because┬аCBC┬аhas been unable to reach the other man in the video as of publication time.
In a caption attached to the TikTok post, the man explained that he went into the corner of an empty hallway at the Via Rail station to pray before travelling. When he returned to his belongings, his coworker told┬аhim a security guard had┬аcome by to say he couldn’t pray there.
Moments later,┬аthe security guard “came yelling don’t pray here,”┬аthe man wrote in his post.┬аHe thought to himself, “Are we not in Canada? Why am I not allowed to pray here?” he wrote.
That’s when some people began recording the interaction, he added. When it was over, some onlookers “came to check” on him.
“That was just a disrespectful, racist and awful situation to be apart of. It was disgusting to say the very least,” the man wrote. “How can this be happening in my home country Canada тАж not the States тАж CANADA.”
The National Council of Canadian Muslims┬аshared the video online.
Fatema Abdalla, a┬аcouncil┬аspokesperson,┬аsaid the organization has┬аbeen in touch with the man in the video, and that the incident has shaken up Muslims across Canada.
“It’s hard to watch,” she said.┬а“To think that, no, individuals can’t feel safe being able to practice their religion … is disturbing тАФ not just to the individual in the video, but to every single Muslim who thinks that they are at peace and safe to pray in public spaces.”
‘We’re moving to see more than just words’
Abdalla┬аsaid Via┬аRail’s apology to the people involved in the incident┬аand to the Muslim community┬аisn’t enough for the council.┬а
“We’re moving to see more than just words,” she said.
“What we need to see is is commitments to┬аchange, and commitments to anti-Islamophobia training, anti-racism training and diversity training that can provide security guards and and others at the stations some more knowledge on how to┬а treat individuals who are just peacefully minding their own business┬аand praying in a corner.”┬а
In its statement, Via┬аRail said┬аit’s taking the situation “very seriously.”
The company is investigating the incident and “will take the appropriate actions pending the outcome of that investigation.”
