Ottawa journalist Chris Dacey has been documenting what he calls “performative prayer” for years: public displays of Islamic ritual staged not as private worship, but as political acts of intimidation and control. Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, Dacey says these demonstrations have become more frequent, more aggressive, and more openly tied to the destruction of Western nation-states.
Why block public streets when Ottawa has many mosques? “It’s to establish dominance, to show that they can… that they can close the street down, that they can pray, and no one can say or do a thing about it,” Dacey explained. He added that in his experience, those who film risk being attacked — and too often, police take the path of least resistance by targeting the journalist instead of the aggressors.