Imam Younus Kathrada, preaching in the Canadian province of British Columbia, called on his congregation to avoid voting for any of the candidates due to them not being Muslims and allegedly defending views considered blasphemous by Islam. A video of his sermon, which was apparently given around a week prior to the general election in Canada, was later uploaded to YouTube.
Kathrada reminded his congregation that they have "two angels on [their] shoulders" who record all of a person's actions and words, including whom he or she voted for.
"On Judgement Day, you will stand before Allah and be asked about it. Ask yourself, […] what I am going to tell Allah when Allah asks me: 'You voted for that filthy non-Muslim – why?" he said.
The imam further argued in his controversial sermon that all of the candidates in the election are "evil" since they "approve of homosexuality" and support "Zionists", which he said is unacceptable to Muslims.
This is not the first sermon by Kathrada that has raised eyebrows. In December 2018, he warned Muslims against wishing merry Christmas to Christians, arguing that it's a sin worse than adultery, lying, or murder.
The initial results of the general election in Canada, which took place on 21 October, indicate that the governing Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, managed to secure 158 seats in the lower chamber of the country's Parliament, thus falling 12 delegates short of forming a majority government. Its closest rivals, the Conservative Party, won 119 seats.
