Muslim man in Saskatoon stabbed, has beard cut off during attack

A routinely walk in Saskatoon for Muhammad Kashif turned violent on Friday morning.

Everyday, Kashif would wake up and make a round or two around his neighborhood block, but this time it looked a lot different.

“Someone stopped behind me in a car,” Kashif told Global News. “Someone was on my back, and after that I fell down and then one held my head and hands and started abusing me. Using the f-word and lot of things like, ‘why are you wearing this dress?’ ‘why are you here?’ ‘Go back to your country, we hated Muslim’ and that kind of thing.”

“They hurt me and that’s fine. But when they cut my beard, that hurt me.”

The attack continued.

“After that I was stabbed in my arm … they hit me with my cane,” Kashif said. “That’s basically what happened. After that I couldn’t find my keys or phone. I ran back to my home, knocked on the door and my wife’s sleeping, kids are sleeping upstairs and they don’t hear a ring. And then I tried my neighbours and the neighbours also sleeping. They are very good, my neighbours.”

Kashif then attempted to stop some passing vehicles on the street, but nobody stopped for him. Around 5:30 a.m. he made his way to his backyard and laid down when a truck driver stopped and offered his assistance and called 9-1-1.

Emergency services arrived on the scene.

Kashif went to the hospital and received 14 stitches in one stab wound, and 5 in another.

“I’m still in shock and scared,” Kashif said.

“Doesn’t matter where you live, there are crimes everywhere. This is my country. I’ve lived here for the last 20 years. I was 12 years old when I came to Canada.”

Kashif moved from Montreal to Saskatoon in 2006.

–With files from Global News