A well-attended gathering at a Windsor mosque on Sunday to celebrate the slain leader of Hezbollah — listed by Canada and other countries as a terrorist group — has sparked online outrage.
“We don’t believe Hassan Nasrallah is a terrorist,” said Hussein Dabaja, a co-organizer of the Windsor gathering and a Lebanese-born Hezbollah supporter.
“He gave us freedom in 2000 against Israeli occupation. We are proud. We are his community.”
Nasrallah, 64, was targeted and killed in an Israel Defense Forces air strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut last Friday.
The announcement of his death triggered tears and life celebrations across the Arab world, pointing to the widespread reach and influence of a man who has been at the forefront of Middle Eastern politics for decades.
“Our government has listed Hezbollah as a terrorist. We do not agree with that,” Dabaja told the Star. “Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah freedom-fighting.”
In a since-deleted post, the Ahlulbayt Youth Collective advertised Sunday’s majlis (special gathering) at the Ahlul Bayt Mosque, 1065 Wyandotte St. E., “to commemorate the martyrdom” of Nasrallah, on its Instagram and Facebook accounts.
The event attracted hundreds of people to the mosque, according to Dabaja, who is a Canadian citizen.
“People come,” Dabaja said. “People sad, crying, and they say they’ll never forget Hassan Nasrallah and what he did for us.”
Richard Marceau, vice-president and general counsel of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, shared a screenshot of the post on X (formerly Twitter), expressing concern over growing support for Hezbollah.
“When I tell you there is support for Hezbollah — a terrorist organization in Canadian law: there will be a commemorate event for Hassan Nasrallah in a Windsor mosque,” the post read.
The Windsor event glorified terrorism, Marceau told the Star on Wednesday: “This man banned or stood for everything that’s anti-ethical to Canadian values.
“It blows my mind that a house of worship would want to honour this person. We let the police know because this is glorification of terrorism.” Marceau also tagged federal Public Safety Minister Domenic LeBlanc on his post.
City police told the Star they were aware that an event took place at the mosque on Sunday. Gary Francoeur, director of corporate communications for the Windsor Police Service, said police were not made aware of any protests or demonstrations that occurred at the location.
Nasrallah’s death is not the first time Israel has killed a leader of Hezbollah. Nasrallah took over from Abbas Mousawi, who was killed by an Israeli helicopter attack in 1992.
However, today’s Hezbollah — which stands for ‘Party of God’ — is very different from the ragtag organization it was in the 1990s. In recent years, the organization has presided over an army-like group estimated to have tens of thousands of fighters and a sophisticated arsenal of rockets and missiles capable of reaching anywhere inside Israel.
“Hezbollah is the most deadly terrorist organization in the world,” said Warren Kinsella, founder of Facts Matter, a group of people who fight antisemitism in Canada.
“There has been no other terrorist group that has been as successful at killing people as Hezbollah,” he told the Star.
“When it comes to killing human beings, no mosque, no church, no person should be celebrating that.”
— With files from the Associated Press