An act of vandalism at the Cold Lake Mosque overnight has left many in the community both saddened and confused about why the incident took place.
When hair stylist Kelly Ross arrived to work Friday morning she said, "I was heartbroken. It's just so sad." Ross works at Danny En Vogue, right next door to the mosque along 50 Avenue in Cold Lake.
"This hits close to home, because everyone around here is like a big family. We all support each other, we know each other, we work together," Ross added. "Anything we can do to help out, we told them we would do. We're there for them and I know so many others are too."
Representing the Cold Lake Mosque, Mahmoud El-Kadri told the Nouvelle morning it was "sad" to see damage to the mosque, but that it was too early to comment in further detail.
He said they would be working throughout the day to fix the two broken windows on the front of the building and clean up the spray paint that reads "go home" and "Canada" in red, messy writing.
Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland visited the mosque early Friday morning to offer his support and let those affected by the vandalism know the city stands behind them.
"I'm extremely disappointed," said Copeland. "This does not represent the community or its residents. It's sad and completely unnecessary."
Copeland said the Muslim community has been an integral part of Cold Lake for decades. "They're a part of what makes Cold Lake such a vibrant, beautiful community."
Copeland added, "This is an insult to not only Muslims, but all Canadians."
Throughout the morning people continually streamed in and out of the mosque offering both condolences and support.
One woman who stopped by the mosque said she believed "it was probably teenagers - vandals who don't know what they are doing."
Ross added, "The types of people who do this don't understand what it means to be part of a community. It's sad."
She added, "I've been here for a few years and I think it would be the same thing if another church or community centre here was damaged or vandalized. We would come together for the group affected and help them out in any way we can."
