"My kids, my wife’s very shocked right still now."
Muhammad Kashif, of Saskatoon, Canada, was targeted in an alleged racist attack, having had his beard cut off and being stabbed.
On June 25, 2021, Muhammad was on his routine walk when a vehicle allegedly drove up. Someone then stabbed him in the back multiple times.
Muhammad said: “One guy held my head and started abusing me, using the f-word and a lot of things.
“And, ‘Why are you wearing this dress?’ ‘Why are you here?’ ‘You go back to your country.’ ‘We hate Muslims’ and that kind of thing.
“They hurt me. That’s fine but when they cut my beard, that’s what hurt me.
“Two persons, 110 per cent sure because the one guy is holding me and one guy is cutting the beard.
“After that, I tried to hide it and I was stabbed at my arm.
“On my arm here, one stab, has 14 stitches, and this stab has five stitches, and my back hurts too but not any stitches.”
After the racist attack, Muhammad could not find his keys or phone. He ran to his home.
Muhammad continued: “Came back to home, knocked on the door and my wife’s sleeping, kids are sleeping upstairs and they don’t hear a ring.
“And then I tried my neighbours and the neighbours also sleeping.
“They are very good, my neighbours, but they are also sleeping.
“So then I go walked through the front, tried my best and try to stop someone and three, four vehicles, tried to stop it but they did not stop.
“Then I lied down in my backyard, (a truck driver) stopped the vehicle, he asked me, ‘What happened?’ I said, ‘Someone stabbed me’ and then he called 911.”
Paramedics arrived at the scene and assessed Muhammad. He was then taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Muhammad still remains in shock after the racist attack.
He said: “I don’t know. My kids, my wife’s very shocked right still now. It has just happened this morning, I am still in shock and scared.
“I’m happy I’m still alive.
“It’s everywhere, crimes happen, doesn’t matter where you live.
“There’s crimes everywhere I never thought it would happen in Saskatoon.
“This is my country, I’ve been living here the last 20 years. I was 12 years old when I came to Canada.”
Following the attack, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark released a statement.
The statement read: “We are going through a traumatic time in our community.
“I am horrified and saddened about the targeted attack on Muhammad Kashif in our own city this morning.
“I am concerned for Mr Kashif. I am concerned for his young family. And I am concerned for the entire Muslim community.”
“In the past few weeks, I have had heartfelt conversations with leaders and friends in the Muslim community about the impact of racist attacks in our city and other cities.
“This is having a real impact on their sense of safety, well-being, and belonging.
“It is affecting everyday decisions they are making about whether they go out as a family.”
“This is not acceptable in our city. This is not who we want to be.”
“This is not what I want for the Muslim community or any community.”
Mayor Clark added that Saskatoon needs to stand with Muhammad and his family as well as the rest of the Muslim community.
The statement continued:
“We must build a city where everyone is safe to live their lives without fear of being attacked for living out their faith, values, or identity.
“Together we must come to terms with the fact that these threats have been growing, and we must work hard together and fight against this.
“Groups that are spreading white supremacy, Islamophobia and any other form of discrimination need to be investigated and held accountable.
“We must also confront individual acts of racism and discrimination.”
According to police, the investigation is in its preliminary stage with the series assault unit looking into it, receiving support from the equity and cultural engagement unit.
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