The Fight Against Canadian Extremism
- Mark Sandler
- Apr 6
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 6
This week, I attended the pre-screening of the documentary October H8TE and had the opportunity to speak briefly with its director Wendy Sachs. She is to be commended for making this film “against all odds.” Film distributors and industry agents confidentially expressed support for her work, while (with one notable exception) declining to assist her in getting this film distributed.
The film is a powerful indictment of how Western progressive liberalism responded, in large measure, to the October 7 atrocities. Well before a single Israeli soldier entered Gaza, Israel was being blamed – and exclusively so – for the horrific murders of its own people. Indeed, the massacre was celebrated and legitimized on campuses and on our streets. This is a story that must be told.
But the film also tells the important story of those courageous young Jewish students and righteous allies who have publicly confronted antisemitism on their campuses, often by those who distort the meaning of Zionism to demonize it and all Zionists without distinction. This film isn’t about criticism – even severe criticism – of Israel, its government, conduct or policies. It is about hate.
The protests that took place commencing on October 8 were not spontaneous, but well orchestrated. The movie exposes the Hamas led plan (initiated well before October 7 and captured in an FBI wiretap interception and testimonials) to couch a genocidal jihadist movement in palatable "colonizer-colonized" or "oppressor-oppressed" reductionist language, gaining as adherents both the malevolent and the appallingly ignorant.
This film is an important tool in educating non-Jews on what should be our common cause and in empowering Jews to tell our story. In my view, it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that this film is seen as broadly as possible.
The director advised the assembled audience that she plans to next tackle the influence of foreign financing on the American anti-Israel movement and the affiliations between so-called grassroots student organizations and terror entities. This, too, is a critically important story to tell, not just in the United States but in Canada. Especially in Canada.
Windsor Mosque Glorifies Hizbullah Leader Nasrallah, Hamas Leader Sinwar, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, and Hizbullah ‘Martyrs’ – MEMRI Report
A newly released report from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Washington-based nonprofit, non-partisan research organization, has exposed alarming content disseminated by the Ahlul Bayt Mosque, a prominent Shi’a Islamic centre in Windsor, Ontario. The report reveals that the mosque regularly uses its social media platforms to express support for Hizbullahⁱ and Hamas, both designated as prohibited terror groups in Canada. These platforms refer to these terror groups as “our honourable resistance” in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Iraq, affirming allegiance to their cause.
The mosque’s Youth Collective and the youth collective’s women’s group frequently post tributes on Instagram to Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah’s late secretary general, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader and architect of the October 7 atrocities, and Qassem Soleimani, the late IRGC Quds Force commander. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force are also prohibited terror groups in Canada.
The report also refers to Ahlul Bayt Islamic School, directly affiliated with the mosque’s leadership. It observes that the school’s extremism was clearly evident in a statement it issued jointly with the mosque condemning Prime Minister Trudeau as a Zionist complicit in the killing of Gaza children and the destruction of Lebanon. The statement declared unwavering support for “our honourable resistance,” Hizbullah and Hamas, and expressed pride in their cause.
The mosque held a commemorative service for Nasrallah and other Hizbullah militants and has regularly posted eulogies for Hizbullah militants and promoted a Telegram channel providing real-time updates on the activities of Hizbullah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other jihadi organizations. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is yet another designated terror group prohibited in Canada.
The report carefully documents the social media content generated by the Ahlul Bayt Mosque and its affiliates that glorify Nasrallah and his ideology, eulogize Hizbollah “martyrs,” and support Sinwar and his messages. Some of this content appears to not only glorify, but endorse the violence perpetrated by these designated terror groups and their leaders as a moral and religious imperative.
Examples of Social Media Content
In a post on December 14, 2024, the Youth Collective shared a reel of Nasrallah declaring:
“If you are weak... the world will not defend you... What protects you is your strength, your courage, your weapons, your missiles, and your presence in the field.”
He is later framed as a leader who “ignited hope,” whose “vision inspired strength,” and whose guidance showed the world that “resistance is not just an act, but a way of life.”
On October 18, 2024, the Youth Collective posted Instagram stories glorifying Sinwar as a martyr. One of the captions stated:
“We must continue on the same path we started, or let it be another Karbala.”ᶦᶦ
Over the next two days, the Youth Collective featured photographs of Sinwar and other slain terrorist leaders. One reel featured video footage of Sinwar, accompanied by audio of him stating, according to the English translation:
“And if we speak, the trigger will speak for us... We will make Netanyahu curse the day his mother gave birth to him... Let everyone who has a rifle prepare his rifle, and let whoever does not have a rifle prepare his machete... Oh Allah, break their strength by us, oh Allah, lower their banner by us.”
The accompanying text states that “this warrior is the definition of standing up and taking action for the oppressed against the oppressor. This man is the definition of courage, bravery, commitment. May Allah give us a drop of this lion’s strength.”
On March 7, 2025, the Youth Collective reposted a statement from the Youth Collective Sisters clearly expressing the mosque’s and school’s alignment with Nasrallah, Hizbullah, and Hamas. As briefly summarized earlier, the statement was in response to remarks by Prime Minister Trudeau during the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism in which he stated, “I am a Zionist.” The collective replied by calling him “a fool,” blaming him for alleged atrocities in Gaza and Lebanon.
Most significantly, the post affirmed full support for terrorist groups:
“We support our honorable resistance in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq, led by Hizbullah and Hamas... We are proud to belong to this community – the most honorable, the most generous, and the purest of people, as described by our supreme martyr, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.”
On March 3, 2025, the collective posted a tribute to Shahid Shawki Saad, a Hizbullah militant, that included:
“Why do we keep posting about [him]? Because without him, we wouldn’t be who we are today. Haj Shawqui was more than a mentor – he was our guide, our strength, our light. He saw something in us before we even saw it in ourselves. In 2011, from Lebanon to forgotten Windsor, Ontario, he planted the seed of the Ahlul Bayt Youth Committee – not just to teach us, but to empower us. He gave us the courage to lead, the faith to stand firm, and the love to serve.”
On March 12, 2025, the collective reposted a reel from the account @almajd.llshuhadah glorifying three Hizbullah militants: Samir Tawfiq Deeb, Ali Abdel Moneim Karaki, and Muhammed Habib Khair El-Din. The reel concluded with a speech by Nasrallah stating:
“Throughout our history, there are great sacrifices that have been made in order for this religion to reach us – sacrifices of blood, martyrdom, and oppression.”
Analysis
MEMRI’s detailed report raises deep concerns about the Ahlul Bayt Mosque, its affiliated school and Youth Collective’s active endorsement of terrorist ideology, and glorification of terror groups, their leadership and activities. Indeed, some of the language cited in the report may go beyond the endorsement or glorification of terrorism and reflect a perceived moral obligation to pursue the path of terrorism, empowered by the words and actions of terror leaders.
Section 83.221 of the Criminal Code provides that counselling another person to commit a terrorism offence constitutes an indictable offence. Counselling includes procuring, soliciting or inciting. The offence is complete regardless of whether any such counselling or incitement has been successful in causing a terrorism offence to be committed. Neither does the offence require proof that the person counselling a terrorism offence identified a specific offence to be committed.
MEMRI’s report should lead to a criminal investigation into the activities that may be taking place at or in association with the mosque, its school and youth collective. Such investigation should include the potential criminal misuse of social media platforms and online accounts to incite or promote hatred. Potential remedies available to the authorities, if supported by their investigation, include not only criminal charges, but also the shutting down of online sites that contain hate or terrorist propaganda. The latter statutory provisions do not require the laying of criminal charges against individuals.
Regardless of the results of any such criminal investigation, the report also raises serious questions about extremist indoctrination of and by students at the school. This should be investigated on an urgent basis by the provincial government pursuant to its education mandate.
Finally, although appropriate protection is afforded freedom of religion, places of worship and related religious-based institutions, this report inevitably invites timely examination of whether this institution is entitled to retain any tax-exempt status, having regard to the nature and extent of the extremist activities that may be taking place or actively promoted there. This should be investigated by the revenue authorities in partnership with law enforcement.
Regardless of one’s views on the Middle East conflict, one would hope that all Canadians of good faith would be appalled by any institution, religious or otherwise, that supports and embraces the activities of terror groups designated under the Criminal Code.
Conclusion
The film October H8TE ends with a message of hope, reinforced by the director in her post-screening dialogue with the audience. It may have been difficult for audience members to feel hopeful as they witnessed on-screen protestors celebrating October 7, intimidating Jewish students on American campuses and dehumanizing victims of sexual assault, murder and kidnapping rather than recognizing Hamas for what it is.
It may be equally difficult for Canadian Jews to feel hopeful in the face of inadequate responses to events such as this week’s protests at McGill. Protestors blocked access to university buildings (itself a criminal offence), intimidating and harassing students (also a criminal offence), and targeting professors (also a criminal offence) who continued to teach during the student strike activity through circulation of a form, promoted on Instagram by a group which the Montreal Gazette reported, had previously lost its official status as a university student club.
But hopeful we must be, if only because hopelessness breeds resignation, despair and inaction.
Start with your candidate for federal political office. At a minimum, ask them these straightforward questions:
Do you believe that Jews and their allies should not be demonized without distinction, intimidated and harassed merely because they believe in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish democratic state?
Do you believe it is unacceptable to call for the expulsion of all Zionists on campus?
Do you believe that it is unacceptable to characterize all Zionists as genocidal, racist and evil, although 91% of Canadian Jews are Zionists?
Do you believe there is a distinction between criticism of Israel, its government, conduct or policies and calls for the elimination of the State of Israel and its Jewish population?
If the answer to these questions is “yes”, what are you going to do to address these issues, if elected?
This is not a partisan issue – it is a moral one, and the time has come for all Canadians to reject extremism in every form, support those who speak truth in the face of hate, and demand principled leadership that defends our shared democratic values.
Endnotes
Also commonly referred to as Hezbollah.
For Shia Muslims, the Battle of Karbala is commemorated, in part, as a day of martyrdom, associated with the death of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. His stand is seen as the ultimate act of resistance against tyranny and injustice.
About the Author
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.