News that a Canada Revenue Agency audit found a Port Coquitlam mosque director may have misappropriated funds did not come as a surprise to several members of the Tri-City Muslim community.
In fact, the actions of Saadeldin Bahr, the man at the centre of the audit — and who is currently serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for sexual assault — has sowed deep divisions among attendees of the Masjid Alhidayah and Islamic Cultural Centre, according to Abdullah Rahimi.
In 2011, concerned over the mismanagement of the mosque, Rahimi and other congregants held demonstrations outside the Kingsway Avenue building in an attempt to garner support to oust Bahr from his directorship. Despite the protests, Bahr retained his position at the mosque and even led prayers while his criminal charges loomed following his 2013 arrest, according to several people contacted by The Tri-City News.
Even with Bahr in jail, Rahimi said many of the directors who are loyal to him are still in control of the mosque and there is no process to remove them.
“The people right now in charge of the mosque are the same people who are there before Saad left,” he said. “Nothing is new… These are the people that worked with Saad. These are the people that protected Saad.”
Rahimi said the Canada Revenue Agency audit that found the more than $127,000 in questionable spending, among other financial mismanagement, only covered 2010 to 2013. He added that he would like to see an audit covering the years since 2013, which would include the time when Bahr was fighting criminal charges.
Rahimi’s outspoken criticisms of mosque leaders has led to him being ostracized from the community, he said.
Many people told The Tri-City News they have stopped attending prayers or curtailed the number of times they attend the mosque, particularly since the sexual assault charges were laid in 2013.
“Why should we be afraid to go to the mosque?” Rahimi said. “I am afraid. I am afraid to go there. The guy has gone to jail but nothing has changed… It is very sad.”
Khan Shoaib, another mosque attendee, said several congregants became suspicious of the financial dealings taking place at the Masjid Alhidayah and Islamic Cultural Centre as early as 2011. Approximately 30 members demanded answers from the management, he said, requesting a detailed audit to verify the funds the mosque received from local donations.
“The news [of the CRA audit] was not surprising for me and my friends,” Shoaib said in an email. “The suspected misappropriation of funds, general mismanagement and lack of accountability at the mosque was the reason why… [we] had demanded answers from the entrenched management.”
Anwar Zubairi, another former congregant at the centre, echoed Rahimi and Shoaib’s remarks.
He said he has not attended the mosque since sexual assault charges were laid four years ago and intends to hold a community meeting to ascertain what steps can be taken to bring a leadership change at the centre.
“I love this mosque,” Rahimi added. “The mosque should not belong to anybody. It should not belong to a group of four or five people.”
The Tri-City News contacted the Islamic Society of BC, the charity that oversees the mosque that was under CRA audit, but a representative did not respond to a request for an interview.
@gmckennaTC
