Man sentenced to 8 years in prison after attacking Mississauga mosque last year

The man who attacked worshippers at a Mississauga mosque last year has been sentenced to eight years in prison, a week after pleading guilty to three terrorism charges.

Mohammad Moiz Omar’s sentencing was heard in front of an Ontario Superior Court in Brampton on Tuesday.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) said his sentence is notably higher than “sentences usually received for the substantive offences because of the terrorism component.”

Omar was “motivated by hate” and intended to “harm indiscriminately,” the PPSC said, when he assaulted congregants at Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in March 2022 with bear spray and a hatchet.

“This was a targeted attack on all the congregants of the Islamic Centre, the worshippers present at the time, and on some of the values held dear by Canadians. Those values include freedom to gather and pray and freedom of religion,” federal prosecutor Sarah Shaikh said in a release.

“The sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence and society’s condemnation for such attacks. It also takes into account the acknowledgment of guilt.”

On July 19, Omar pleaded guilty to three charges, including administering a noxious thing (bear spray) with intent to danger life or cause bodily harm, assault with a weapon (hatchet) and mischief to religious property with the motivation of bias, prejudice, or hate based on religion.

After interviewing Omar, the PPSC said he expressed to police “his hatred for Muslims, and his disappointment at having failed to inflict any real harm on the victims.”

The court decided on Tuesday, with the joint submission from the Crown and Omar’s legal counsel, that Omar serve at least half of his sentence before he can apply for parole. 

“We hope that the Islamic Centre congregants and the Muslim community can now begin the process of healing,” Shaikh said.

With files from Miriam Katawazi and The Canadian Press