Toronto Police apologize after officer brags on podcast about increase in converts to Islam after Oct. 7 attacks

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is facing backlash after a now-deleted podcast episode featured two Muslim liaison officers stating that the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks led more people to study and convert to Islam.  

The episode was part of TPS’s Project Olive Branch podcast but was removed after criticism from the Jewish community.  

During the discussion, Constables Haroon Siddiqui and Farhan Ali talked about the impact of the attacks, with Siddiqui stating that they led to increased interest in Islam.  

 

“Through social media, a lot of people after October 7 started learning about Islam, and they said, ‘well what is it with the religion, why is it so hated? Why are they being attacked all the time?' So people say, 'let me learn about Islam,'" said Siddiqui, with Ali shaking his head in agreement." There have been a lot of reverts through this whole process. I guess when you’re on social media, most of the feeds come through you, once you see one they keep coming, but the amount of people that are reverting to Islam is unbelievable and they’re just, through education, right? They’re educating themselves and saying, ‘what is it that Muslims are being targeted? And why are they being targeted? Let me learn about this religion, what are these accusations they’re saying about Islam and let me learn about it myself and figure out if it’s true or not.’”

Islamists use the term "reverts" rather than "converts" because they see Islam as their natural, original state, and that they were simply returning to it after being influenced by a different way of life

On Tuesday night, TPS issued a statement apologizing for the podcast.  

“We acknowledge that a recent episode of our podcast, Project Olive Branch, has caused significant upset and concern in the Jewish community and beyond. That was not our intention, and we apologize. The podcast has been removed,” the statement read.  

Police Chief Myron Demkiw also responded, saying: “We recognize the Jewish community’s profound pain and anguish as a result of October 7 and the ensuing rise of anti-Semitism. I have personally heard from the community about the impact of this podcast, and I’m truly sorry. Our commitment to protecting our Jewish communities remains unwavering.”  

TPS confirmed that Chief Demkiw has ordered a review of procedures and content to “ensure it aligns with our commitment to respectful and inclusive engagement while maintaining impartiality," City News reports.