A 28-year-old Canadian man has been arrested and charged with hate crimes after tearing up a Quran, the Muslim holy book, at a mosque in the Ontario province, police said Sunday.
The incident took place in the city of Markham while the suspect, Sharan Karunakaran, was later arrested in Toronto, the York Regional Police said in a statement.
The Islamic Society of Markham (ISM) said in a statement an individual had come into the mosque in Markham, 30 kilometers north of Toronto, on Thursday and apparently tore a copy of the Quran, ranted at worshippers, and then tried to ram them with his vehicle.
The police, however, did not mention the Quran being torn in its statement released Sunday.
Police added they charged the suspect with uttering threats, assault with a weapon and dangerous driving. His next scheduled appearance will be at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket on Tuesday.
Canada's Trade Minister Mary Ng condemned the hate crime on Saturday, saying such an incident had no place in Canadian society.
"Deeply disturbed to hear of the violent hate crimes and racist behavior at the Islamic Society of Markham," Ng said in a post on Twitter.
She did not give details of the incident but said: "This violence and Islamophobia has no place in our communities."
Muslims see any attempt to damage a Quran as blasphemous because they consider the Islamic holy book to be the literal word of God.
The incident comes during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when worshippers throng mosques. Thousands of people attend the mosque at Markham, the society said.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said in a post on Twitter it was "greatly distressed" by the incident.
