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Thousands of Shia Muslims gathered in Toronto on Thursday, June 25, for the annual Ashura procession, an event marking one of the holiest days in Shia Islam. Ashura falls on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, and commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. The annual procession is a public display of mourning, featuring Islamic chants, prayers, and rhythmic drumming as participants make their way through city streets.

Do you love our new country?

Annual Ashura march, North York, Toronto 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/QARlgx1zsV

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) June 25, 2026

There were, of course, Iranian counter demonstrators. Contrary to popular belief, and contrary to what the Islamic Republic would like the world to believe, the overwhelming majority of Iranians are not Muslims. Their occupiers are. The regime has spent decades attempting to portray Islam as synonymous with Iranian identity, but the regime’s actions have only driven more people away from Islam over the years. Iran is historically Zoroastrian. Islam invaded Iran around 1,400 years ago, and today many Iranians overwhelmingly reject the ideology that destroyed their homeland. Iran now has one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world, while many others increasingly identify as atheists, rejecting religion altogether.

Elderly people trying to walk down the sidewalk in North York, Toronto, were blocked by hoards of Islamists on a Thursday morning. pic.twitter.com/JpYfbNilaq

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) June 25, 2026

The march itself was attended by several thousand Shia Muslims, with Islamic prayers echoing through the streets of North York as participants beat drums in an eerie, rhythmic pattern. While there were many elderly participants and children, the procession was predominantly made up of working-age men. The march began on a Thursday at 9 a.m., raising the question: why were so many working-age participants absent from work? Who is paying their expenses

The annual Ashura parade took place this morning (Thursday), beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Look at all these working-age men not working. pic.twitter.com/ZT2l52MmvM

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) June 26, 2026

Throughout the procession, volunteers handed roses to passersby. The gesture was all too familiar. During the massive Iranian demonstrations held in Toronto earlier this year, Iranians distributed thousands of roses to civilians and Toronto police officers as a gesture of gratitude and, in many cases, an apology for disrupting people's day. Here, however, only a small number of roses were handed out, and the gesture lacked the same warmth and appreciation. The volunteers silently handed over flowers without speaking. Just as Islam has appropriated elements of Iranian civilization for centuries, this was yet another example of copying Iranian culture.

"We killed 80,000 of you, and that wasn't enough. We will kill more."

A man participating in the Ashura march in North York, Toronto, yesterday said this to Iranian counter demonstrators. https://t.co/xfUUueQvrP

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) June 26, 2026

At one point, commotion broke out and I was called over by the Iranian counter demonstrators. One of their members, Mahya, the only counter protester wearing an Israeli flag, was being arrested by Toronto police. I asked him why he was being arrested. He said he did not know. I asked officers the same question, but they declined to answer. Even as Mahya was escorted to a police cruiser and placed inside, he still had not been told the reason for his arrest. He had not been involved in any physical altercation. He had simply been yelling at Ashura participants while holding a sign and wearing an Israeli flag.

An Iranian man wearing an Israeli flag in protest of the Ashura march in North York, Toronto, was just arrested. Police would not tell him why. pic.twitter.com/Fe4nfvET20

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) June 25, 2026

I followed the remaining counter demonstrators to 32 Division, where we waited for just over two hours with no information. Mahya was eventually released without charges. According to him, police told him inside the station that he had been arrested because of the sign he was carrying. It was the exact same sign carried by almost every other counter demonstrator, yet he was the only one arrested. He was also, again, the only person wearing an Israeli flag.

Mahya has been released. He was told he was arrested because of the sign he was carrying, which contained disparaging remarks about Imam Husayn ibn Ali. He was not the only person carrying that exact sign, but he was the only one arrested for it. He was also the only person… https://t.co/2A5kLaEKLo pic.twitter.com/42DB7Rikso

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) June 25, 2026

The sign contained disparaging statements in Persian about Imam Hussein and other revered figures in Shia Islam. While many would likely consider the wording offensive or crass, it contained no threats of violence or anything illegal.

Signs of the times.

Annual Ashura Parade, North York, Toronto. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/6Vtsy6JgyW

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) June 26, 2026

Rather than dealing with the much larger procession, which included flags and symbols associated with the Islamic Republic, the head of the listed terrorist organization the IRGC, Toronto police instead detained the counter demonstrator wearing an Israeli flag.