SALAM PROJECT:

The Muslim Community in Canada and around the world is in shock. Many are experiencing incredibly strong emotions of fear and uncertainty. Many are still struggling to come to terms with the Quebec Mosque Shooting. Then there are some, who say, “we don’t have a problem.” Leading academics in Canada don’t agree. They agree that hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise, and at their pinnacle, they lead to violent and terrorist attacks.

 

After the Quebec Shooting, the house of commons came forward with 30 recommendations to combat hate crimes and activities that emanate out of them. Nationally, none of the recommendations have been acted upon.

 

The tragedy of New Zealand presented the harsh reality that the Muslim Community is not ready for such mass scale causalities, there is no emergency preparedness in mosques, in our schools and in our community. Every day, suspicious people are entering the mosque, causing a disturbance and leaving. The same tragic chain of events, which many proponents of terror attack engage in, attempting to conduct their surveillance projects before their attacks.

 

The SALAM project is the proactive response by a group of Muslims who are engaged in law enforcement capacities, either in the public policing or private security realm. We understand that our policing partners cannot patrol at our mosques all the time, they do not have the resources to be involved in the capacity they would like to.

 

SALAM which stands for Safety, Awareness, Learning through implementing Action-based Measures is a three-stage program designed to provide our Mosques with a complete safety program.

 

Stage 1 is involves an awareness seminar, which highlights research and data in the hate crime category specifically as it applies to Muslims, encourages Muslims to report crimes which are motivated by hate, understand the intricacies of their rights, relevant laws and give them the true picture of the effort the Canadian Justice system and all its partners are engaged in to support the Muslim community. The seminar also empowers individuals to report suspicious activity, engage in emergency evacuation drills, take emergency first aid courses, emergency preparedness awareness training on active shooters is also provided.

 

Stage 2- is a comprehensive safety audit conducted by industry professionals, who highlight areas of weakness in the overall safety system by applying successfully the principles of crime prevention through environmental design.

 

Stage 3-is more hands-on training for volunteers and management in dealing with active attackers scenarios, by applying hold and security strategies.

 

This awareness training is meant to be a guide, uses principles and training already available in the public sector and utilizes the skills and abilities of Muslim leaders who want to ensure the safety and security of our mosques, the most significant place of worship. 

 

The program has been very well received, approved and supported by the Emergency Management office at the City of Brampton. The program has engaged in partnerships with police services on the local, provincial and national levels. Has been presented/implemented to over 10 large Islamic centres in the GTA, with the plan to reach as many more.

 

Future meetings with the Imam Council of Canada will surely bring exposure to many key stakeholders involved in the successful implementation of this program.

 

This program is a tool for the mosques all over the GTA. If you are a police service, you can reach out to mosques in your community and make them aware of the program.

 

If you would like to get involved in the project, you can contact the Program lead and coordinator Waseem Javed (Waseem_javed@live.com).