Montreal, Quebec, February 3^rd, 2012- The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) expressed its concern over the racial profiling of members of the Montreal Muslim community.

Mr. Saad Allami was arrested, detained and accused of being a terrorist in January 2011, after giving a pep talk to his fellow employees at a telecommunications firm encouraging them to “blow away” the competition at a convention they were attending.

“Mr. Allami’s statements, when considered in the context of which they were given, were nothing to draw such alarm or suspicion,” stated Salam Elmenyawi, president of MCM. “It is clear that his arrest was the result of racial profiling and a knee-jerk reaction to label him as a terror suspect simply due to his religious background. Had these same comments been uttered by someone of a different background, the police would not have rushed to arrest and label him/her without any additional evidence or investigation.”