{"id":201189,"date":"2025-10-09T22:23:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T22:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/201189\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T22:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T22:23:08","slug":"family-advocates-condemn-assault-on-muslim-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/201189\/","title":{"rendered":"Family, advocates condemn assault on Muslim man"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The family of a Muslim hotel worker seriously injured <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cp24.com\/local\/york\/2025\/10\/08\/man-accused-of-violently-assaulting-muslim-employee-at-markham-hotel-in-suspected-hate-motivated-attack\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.cp24.com\/local\/york\/2025\/10\/08\/man-accused-of-violently-assaulting-muslim-employee-at-markham-hotel-in-suspected-hate-motivated-attack\/\">in an alleged hate-motivated assault said the attack in Markham, Ont.<\/a>, has left them fearful, as the National Council of Canadian Muslims warns of a sharp increase in hate crimes against the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The man\u2019s wife said she is speaking out because she doesn\u2019t want another family to go through the same nightmare and no other wife should have to pray for her husband to \u201csurvive an act of hate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe have watched him struggle to breathe, to speak, to move and to even consume a liquid diet,\u201d she said at a press conference in Toronto on Thursday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cThe man we know, strong, patient and full of life, now carries pain that no one should ever have to endure.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">His wife did not provide her name, with organizers of the press conference saying the family is worried about their safety.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">She said her husband, \u201ca Muslim man simply doing the job,\u201d was left with a scarred face and broken teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cEach time I look at him, my heart breaks,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Steven Zhou, a spokesperson for the NCCM, said the Sept. 28 attack caused a skull fracture and a displaced eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cDue to severity of his injuries, the victim\u2019s jaw must now be wired shut to facilitate healing,\u201d he said. \u201cHe cannot eat, he cannot speak. He may never actually regain his full eyesight again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">So far this year, the NCCM has recorded an increase of 35 per cent in hate crimes against Muslims compared to last year, Zhou said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Saddened and upset\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">York Regional Police have said they are investigating the assault at a Markham hotel as hate-motivated and a suspect has been arrested in the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Police allege an intoxicated hotel guest became aggressive after his credit card was declined when he tried to pay for his room, and his \u201cdemeanour changed\u201d when he learned that the hotel employee was Muslim.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Investigators allege the 31-year-old suspect threatened to kill the 54-year-old employee and then chased him to a room where he attacked him violently.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Deputy Police Chief Kevin McCloskey said the force\u2019s hate crime unit is investigating.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI am saddened and upset, like everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no place within York Region, and there is no place within this province or this country, for hate and intolerance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Ottawa\u2019s special representative on combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, said it wasn\u2019t an isolated case and such attacks have become more frequent. She demanded \u201curgent immediate action\u201d to address the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cTo my fellow community members, to Muslims across Canada: our safety is non-negotiable. To decision makers everywhere: your responsibility to upholding our safety is non-negotiable,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cAnyone accused of such heinous acts of violence must face the full consequences of the law,\u201d she added. \u201cThe messages from society must be as resounding as possible to condemn this type of hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hate has no home in Markham: mayor<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti also said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the \u201cvicious attack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI want to make it very, very clear that Islamophobia and hate has no room, has no home, in Markham,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The victim\u2019s daughter, who also didn\u2019t share her name due to safety concerns, said the family is thankful for the support they have received.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cBut I need to be honest \u2014 standing here today, I feel heartbroken, angry and exhausted. What happened to my father should have never happened,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cMost people can\u2019t imagine what it is like to see your father or your husband beaten almost to death.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">She said the attack has left a permanent mark on the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cEach day passes, the reality of what happened hits harder,\u201d she said. \u201cThe shock, the fear, the injustice, it doesn\u2019t fade.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2025. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of a Muslim hotel worker seriously injured in an alleged hate-motivated assault said the attack in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,713,44,11867,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-201189","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-justice","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-ontario-quebec","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}