After pulling a similar stunt last year, when he recorded himself counting cars and filmed a mother with their children, William Majeau returned to the Al-Rashid Mosque, griping about what looks like a nearly empty parking lot.
Peter Smith
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
A man who previously took photographs and video of members -- including children -- of an Edmonton mosque last spring returned on Sunday, taking a photo of the same location and posting it online.
William Majeau (aka Damien Maje) posted a photo outside of the Al-Rashid Mosque in Edmonton. The same location he appeared at last year to count cars and record congregants.
“Why can't Christians observe Easter but Muslims can observe Ramadan unmolested by the liberal paid-off media?” he wrote on his Facebook on Sunday. “CityTV, I am looking directly at you and your F'n bacon sandwich.”
The most recent photo appears to be taken from the street. It shows a sparsely filled parking lot.
Majeau was investigated by the city’s hate crimes unit last year, according to the Edmonton Journal, for his patrolling of the mosque during Ramadan. Videos on his still-active YouTube account show him filming cars parked along the street.
The same reporting references since deleted or removed videos of a woman and children attending the mosque, as well as Majeau eating a bacon sandwich. In some of the remaining footage, Majeau says he was there in April of 2020 during the “Ramadan Bomb-a-thon,” making references to racist stereotypes that claim there is an increase in terror attacks during the observance of Ramadan.
After being criticized in the media for his actions, he proceeded to post a photo of a woman and two children he says were at the mosque, as well as photos of members of a Muslim advocacy organization taken from the group’s website.
At the time, Majeau said he was there to make sure they were obeying social distancing guidelines. No charges were laid against him.
"It's April 24th — the start of the Ramadan 'bomb-a-thon' and I'm just performing my civic duty to make sure that no one's actually showing up at the Al Rashid mosque," he said.
It is not hard to see another potential source for his motivations.
Majeau’s social media accounts remains active and filled with a combination of COVID-19 conspiracy theories and outwardly racist posts, including anti-Muslim and Islamophobic content. Antifascist activists have previously documented the regular tone of his posting and media attention around his actions almost a year ago to date has done little to change that.
Besides regularly sharing content from a variety of anti-Muslim sources, his posts also include regularly racist and demeaning images and captions that depict Islam as a religion that promotes “killing non-believers, beating women, punishing rape victims” and more.
Source: Facebook
Other posts explicitly promote explicitly anti-Black and racist theories. In the caption of a shared video suggesting that Black Lives Matter is instructing racialized men to kill white people, Majeau included the question, “Is Black Lives Matter the new Allahu Akbar?”
Other shared posts promote theories of white erasure and anti-white racism. Majeau has regularly shared the work of other local Islamophobic figures, including a CBC article given the caption “Muz Mayor Defends Anti-Whyte Racism,” and “Are BLM/Izlam waking up to the fact that they can combine their anti-whyte efforts to run our communities into the dirt more effectivly?”
The same mosque was subject to harassment at the hands of members of Edmonton’s various faux biker hate clubs. In 2019, several members of a group then known as The Clann -- a Soldiers of Odin offshoot -- arrived at Al-Rashid to intimidate and harass attendees, according to ARC Collective.
Al Rashid Mosque, which has been offering virtual events and prayers, has a history of goodwill and community volunteer efforts. In February, 2021 they opened up the facilities to Edmontonians during a cold snap, offering 72 beds in their shelter, according to CTV. In December, 2020, the Mosque organized and gave away 400 meals to seniors affected by the pandemic.
Canadian Anti-Hate Network has reached out to the Edmonton Police for comment and will update accordingly.
Follow Peter Smith on Twitter at @misterEpete.
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