A small mosque in Mississauga opened its doors for morning prayer service this morning to find several valuables – including donations from congregants – stolen.
The discovery was made by congregants at the Qasim ul-Uloom Islamic Centre, located near Queen Street and Britannia Road, at around 5: 30 a.m.
Shoraib Yousuf told CTV Toronto that he and several other people arrived early this morning to find the mosque’s office in disarray.
According to Yousuf, the office is usually locked. Today, he found its door wide open.
“Once we reached the office, we found that the safe was gone, everything was gone,” he said. "And they threw the Quran on the floor, the holy book, so I took it from there because I don't want to leave (it) on the floor."
Yousuf said he and the others eventually discovered that the security cameras had been tampered with. They also found a broomstick sticking out of the ceiling.
Yousuf believes whoever broke in used the broomstick to redirect the lens of the security camera so it was no longer pointed at the office where a safe was stored.
According to Yousuf, the safe contained cash donations from congregants, cheques, cheque books and documents that register the mosque as a religious institution in Canada.
“The people who’ve donated, (those are) post-dated cheques, they are of no use to them. Obviously I would really like to get them back because it’s kind of hard for us to trace back whose cheque is where and what was given to us. We do have some records but not a lot.”
Though it’s unclear the value of the contents of the safe, Yousuf said it’s unlikely the loss will be regained.
“They are pretty important,” Yousuf said about missing CRA documents. “We’re going to probably have to get a copy of those. I’m not even sure what the procedure is.”
Peel Regional Police has been informed of the break-in and will investigate today.
Yousuf said members of the mosque are disappointed by the incident.
“It does hurt everybody. It’s a small community… it’s like a home to us.”
