Elham Asaad Buaras
Muslim schools and community centres across Canada have received a series of threatening emails, including a message threatening to “slaughter” Muslims, prompting police investigations and tighter security around Islamic institutions.
The threats, reported between September 20 and October 8, targeted Muslim educational facilities in several provinces. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is investigating alongside municipal police forces, while school administrators have reviewed security arrangements and police have increased patrols around affected sites.
In Calgary, Alberta, an Islamic school received a second hateful message believed to be connected to an earlier mass death threat against nine schools operated by the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC). Faith leaders gathered at MAC Islamic School on October 8 to express solidarity with pupils, families and staff.
School director Mazen Jichi said the school had reviewed visitor access and procedures for dropping off and collecting pupils.
“Sometimes you read an email like that and you become anxious, but reading such an email is beyond that, way beyond that,” Jichi told CityNews Calgary.
The school remained open, with Calgary police monitoring the situation.
In Ottawa, police said MAC had reported threats against several Muslim schools and centres between September 20 and October 6. Officers increased their presence around affected locations and liaised with community leaders as the RCMP investigation continued.
“We recognise how deeply concerning and unsettling these threats may be for members of Ottawa’s Muslim community,” Ottawa police said in a statement.
The investigation follows an anonymous email received by MAC on September 24 and sent to nine Islamic schools in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. The message, timestamped September 20, originated from a Proton Mail account identifying the sender as “Jehu, Citizen Vigilante”.
It threatened to “slaughter” Muslims and declared that Canada would become “Islam free”. The sender claimed that “millions on top of millions of people in the nation of Canada are ready to take up arms” and referred to Alberta’s separatist movement, warning that Muslims would be “deported or slaughtered” if the province became an independent country.
MAC alerted police in Ontario, Vancouver and Montreal, as well as the RCMP. The organisation activated security protocols and hired private guards at some schools.
Peel Regional Police said on September 25 that its hate-crime unit was investigating a letter containing “hate-motivated threats” against Islamic institutions. Officers increased patrols around mosques and schools, with the enhanced presence initially planned to continue through the weekend.
Police in London and Waterloo, Ontario, also investigated reports of the emails. Waterloo officers visited a school and conducted safety planning with administrators.
In Ottawa, Abraar Elementary School was among the institutions affected. Police increased patrols around religious and educational facilities and said they had no information indicating a specific or imminent threat.
“As a precaution, police visibility remains increased around religious institutions and the educational facility that received the complaint,” the Ottawa Police Service said.
The RCMP confirmed on September 28 that it was investigating alongside several municipal police forces. Officers were working with school leaders to assess the reports and available evidence. Police urged anyone with relevant information to contact investigators.
Nabil Sultan, a MAC spokesperson whose child attends one of its schools, said the organisation had previously received hateful and Islamophobic messages, but nothing on this scale.
“Such a disturbing email to be received by teachers and administrators, and families and children, really makes it difficult for us to live as a community feeling good about ourselves, feeling that we are welcomed in this society,” Sultan told CBC News.
He said pupils were “scared and vulnerable” and that targeting schools and children had “shook us to our core”.
“All of the things that we try to teach our children in these schools is that they are equal to any other Canadian, that they have equal rights and responsibilities,” Sultan said. “Threats like this really make them question if they belong because of the way they pray and because of their faith.”
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) described the emails as a mass death threat against Islamic schools and called for an urgent response.
“It is utterly horrifying and disgusting to witness this mass death threat issued to Islamic schools across Ontario,” the organisation said.
“We have now witnessed, in Canada, several overt calls of violence aimed at Muslims and Muslim communities. This is a threat that puts our broader social fabric in great danger. It must be addressed with the utmost urgency and seriousness.”
The NCCM urged Canadian officials to condemn the threats and meet Muslim community representatives to develop a “National Strategy on Combatting Islamophobia”.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he was “deeply disturbed” by the messages.
“Every child deserves to learn in safety, and every family deserves to feel secure sending their child to school,” he said. “These threats are unacceptable and have no place in Canada.”
Sultan cited previous attacks on Muslims, including the June 2021 killing of four members of the Afzaal family in London, Ontario, in a vehicle attack later ruled an act of terrorism, and the January 2017 Quebec City Mosque shooting, in which six worshippers were killed.
“These threats are real, and we know that they are real,” Sultan said. “The targeting of children, the targeting of schools, in that kind of way is something that shook us to our core.”
The threats come amid an increase in police-reported hate crimes targeting Muslims. Statistics Canada figures cited in earlier reporting showed such offences rose by more than 170 per cent between 2020 and 2024. Ottawa police subsequently reported that 204 anti-Muslim hate crimes were recorded nationally in 2025, compared with 142 in 2021.
The RCMP-led investigation remains ongoing. Police have not publicly confirmed any arrests or charges directly connected to the original mass email campaign.
