Whitehorse businesses puzzled by graffiti quoting the Qur'an

Business owners in Whitehorse say they're puzzled by a rash of graffiti after several downtown buildings were marked with spray-painted messages, some of which quote the Qur'an.

"It's a bit bizarre to me," said Doug Terry, owner of a downtown Tim Hortons franchise that was targeted by the vandals.

He said he's not bothered by the content of the messages, but he is bothered by the damage to his building. Graffiti seems to be a growing problem in the downtown, along with other forms of petty crime, he said.

"It is escalating," he said.

"Maybe it's boredom, maybe it's drugs. I've been scratching my head. I've asked a number of RCMP officers what their thoughts are on what's happened over the last 18 months, and I can't really get a clear answer."

Rick Karp, president of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce, said graffiti and vandalism are ongoing problems for local business owners. He said graffiti tends to "flare up" occasionally, especially in the spring.

"I think what we're witnessing now is probably just a transition to summer, people getting out, having some time on their hands and wanting to make a little mess," said Karp.

Karp also links the problem to another bugbear of downtown merchants — loitering. 

"We're experiencing a lot of people just hanging around a lot more," he said.

"I think vandalism results when an owner or a manager of a business keeps saying to someone 'leave, leave,' and they come back, and leave, and then they get upset."

The best strategy for deterring vandals is to remove graffiti as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours of being spotted, Karp said. The Chamber of Commerce published a booklet several years ago with tips to help local merchants keep their businesses secure.  

Like Terry, Karp doesn't place too much significance on the nature of the latest graffiti messages, but he said it's odd.

"Usually we're seeing symbolic signatures of the people doing the graffiti," he said. "This is a little different."