A video of a Canadian man covering up anti-Muslim graffiti along Highway 16, outside the gates of Jasper National Park in the province of Alberta, has been viewed over 22,000 times on Facebook.
Tyler Johnstone, 28, was driving home from work when he spotted the word ‘mosque’ painted onto the wall of a public restroom.
After spending a few minutes driving, he turned around to remove it out of ‘disgust’. Mr. Johnstone captured the moment on video, declaring that he would take “twenty minutes of my company’s time to scrap it off with whatever I have in the back of my work van”. Adding: “I think it’s wrong. It’s so wrong. I drove past it, and for five minutes and I thought about, and I had to turn around and come back”.
Not wanting to damage the building, he covered up the graffiti with tape, before contacting Parks Canada.
In a follow-up interview, Mr. Johnstone stated: “The big thing for me is do unto others as you want done unto you, it’s plain and simple and applies to everything in life, but especially this. If this was your religion you wouldn’t want this smeared across a washroom.”
On Facebook, many expressed their gratitude and support. Comments included “Such a humble and kind hearted gesture. God bless you!” and “Thank you from a fellow Edmontonian and a Muslim. I feel safer just knowing that you notice and act upon what is not right”.
Parks Canada confirmed to the Edmonton Sun that similar graffiti had been found on the walls of two other locations. Police are now investigating the source of the graffiti.