Images posted to social media of Muslims praying together in a Montreal park have stirred controversy in the province after members of the city's Muslim community gathered earlier this week to celebrate Eid al-Adha.

Their communal prayers in a park in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough prompted complaints from residents and political commentators.

Le Devoir newspaper featured a letter from a group of secularists condemning the public prayers.

That's our truck. And those ads are from regular Canadian citizens who are afraid of Hamas and want to speak out.

Help us fight back against this abusive censorship. Go to https://t.co/7msxLfYbVS https://t.co/jBt06I0ako

— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) June 20, 2024

Borough mayor Emilie Thuillier said that she is considering banning religious events in public parks, CTV News reports.

Frederic Dejean, a professor in the department of religion at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal has responded to this controversy, saying that larger gatherings of Christians taking place in the streets of downtown Montreal doesn't stir up the same level of anger.

A spokesperson for a collective representing pro-secularist organizations in Quebec put forth that "religious celebrations should not be allowed on public space because they exclude people who aren't members of the faith."

The controversy comes at the same time that Toronto police announced they were investigating hateful messages advertised on a video truck. The truck, owned by Rebel News, broadcasted a message from the "Canadians Opposed to the Occupation of our Streets and Campuses" group, about Islamic prayer sessions in public spaces.

John Tory wants me prosecuted for a crime because he disagrees with ads that we ran on a billboard truck.

That’s not the Canadian way. Even if his friend group all agrees with him, it’s still not how we do things in Canada. https://t.co/PytVHaN2Gt

— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) June 21, 2024

The truck sparked controversy online, with several politicians disavowing the message, including NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who called it an "Islamophobic campaign" done to "incite fear and fuel hatred."

Is Pierre Poilievre planning another fundraising pitch to help his friends at Rebel Media defend their hate-mobile?

This Islamophobic campaign was done to incite fear and fuel division — it's unacceptable.

All leaders have a responsibility to condemn hateful acts like this. https://t.co/notnPYTbiD

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 21, 2024