A disturbed Canadian set himself on fire. Of course, Israel is blamed

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A prominent Manitoba Muslim group bafflingly pointed the finger at Israel after a tragic self-immolation incident at a Winnipeg mosque over the weekend, exploiting a troubled young man’s mental health to take shots at the Jewish state over its war against Hamas in Gaza.

In a written statement released on Sunday, one day after a minor reportedly set himself on fire inside Winnipeg Grand Mosque, the board of the Manitoba Islamic Association wrote, “Though we cannot speak to the details of what occurred for this youth, what we can say is that (we) remai(n) increasingly concerned about… factors that may have impacted his well-being,” as well as mental health in the broader Muslim community.

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The statement continued: “We understand that global issues including the genocide against Palestinians and Muslims in Gaza and the rest of Palestine, is impacting so many people beyond the boundaries of our community.”

The group also insinuated that discrimination played a part in driving the youth to despair, writing “We cannot have mental health in the context of a racist, Islamophobic and genocidal world.” It encouraged politicians to “speak up against barriers to mental health care” for Muslim Canadians who’ve been traumatized by the scenes from Gaza.

And while the Manitoba Islamic Association released a “correction” on Monday night apologizing for wording in the statement that “may (have) contribute(d) to misconceptions and misunderstandings,” the group’s immediate reaction to the suicide is still a worrying example of the “blame the Jews” reflex that has reasserted itself in some circles since Oct. 7.

Interestingly, neither statement made any mention of the emotional trauma endured by Jewish Canadians, including scores of Jewish children, over the past eight months. Nowhere, for example, do the authors call out the spate of shooting incidents that have taken place at Jewish schools since Oct. 7, including two shootings in the span of five days to close out May. A recent survey of Jewish Ottawa area students in grades 6–12 found that seven in 10 felt unsafe at school due to their religious identity.

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Nor did the authors’ purported concern for the “mental health and well-being” of all Canadians stop them from peddling the very far-fetched genocide claims that have been weaponized by the roving thugs who’ve vandalized Jewish-owned businesses and tried to intimidate residents of predominantly Jewish neighbourhoods. The Islamic association’s insinuation, in its first statement, that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian-held West Bank, most of which lies more than 100 kilometres away from the theatre of war, was particularly outrageous. Curiously, the correction issued by the group on Monday made no apologies for misrepresenting details.

The Winnipeg area youth, who as of Tuesday had not been named in the media, succumbed to his injuries. His suicide came on the eve of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays on the Muslim calendars.

Authorities had not, as of Tuesday morning, said whether they had found a suicide note at the scene or come across any material, such as social media posts, providing any insight into what motivated the young man to set himself on fire. However, the board of the Manitoba Islamic Association wrote in Monday’s corrective note that he “suffered from severe mental illness” and subsequently “experienced a mental health crisis which caused him to lose touch with reality,” suggesting that his challenges were known within the community.

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The association’s since corrected statement, which implied that distress over the war in Gaza may have motivated the young man to take his own life, appeared to draw on surface-level similarities between the suicide and the highly publicized self-immolation of 25-year-old United States Air Force officer Aaron Bushnell in February.

Bushnell, who was not Arab or Muslim, set himself ablaze outside the front gate of the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., reportedly shouting “Free Palestine!” as he burned. Bushnell was dressed in his military uniform at the time. (The act was live streamed on social media platform Twitch.)

Bushnell’s suicide was preceded by a similar act of self-immolation outside of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta two months earlier. The woman who set herself on fire in Atlanta survived the ordeal but suffered extensive third-degree burns. She has not been named.

It’s worth stressing, given the details coming out of Winnipeg, that both self-immolation incidents south of the border took place near diplomatic missions of Israel.

Conveniently, the first statement didn’t address the question of why a young man who was distraught over Israel’s actions in Gaza would instead choose a notable Muslim landmark as the site of his symbolic act of self-immolation. (The Winnipeg Grand Mosque is, in fact, Manitoba’s oldest and most historic mosque.)

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Further, it was highly irresponsible for the Islamic association to potentially plant a seed in the minds of other vulnerable youth by suggesting, without any evidence, that negative emotions over the war in Gaza drove the young man to take his life. Young people have been found to be especially susceptible to suicide contagion, a well-known phenomenon in which one suicide can trigger a spate of copycat suicides.

If the group’s professed concern about the mental health of young Muslims is genuine, they certainly have a funny (and counter-productive) way of showing it.

Manitoba’s Muslim community is no doubt heartbroken right now, especially with such a senseless tragedy coming at what should be a joyous time of year. One can nevertheless feel sympathy for the community and still be disappointed by the Manitoba Islamic Association’s divisive (and frankly dangerous) knee-jerk response to the tragedy.

The group took a step in the right direction by apologizing for the statement on Monday evening. Its leadership now needs to reflect on what drove them to respond to the tragedy with such a divisive and tone-deaf statement in the first place.

National Post

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