“As Canadian Muslims, we stand united in our commitment to fostering peace and compassion in our communities,” the organizers were cited by OnIslam.net correspondent.

“We stand united in our opposition to all acts of terrorism and violence committed in the name of Islam.”

“This is a grassroots campaign to promote civic engagement and peaceful coexistence in solidarity with all Canadians, and all global citizens.”

Despite the bitter cold temperatures, Muslims, friends from other religious traditions and supporters came out to the peace gatherings that were held in the Ontario cities of Toronto, Ottawa, London and Kingston.

“Today, we are gathered here with a very simple message – the message is that Canadian Muslims stand united and in compassion with our fellow citizens,” Shahzad Mustafa, an organizer of the Toronto event, told the crowd gathered at Nathan Phillips Square outside of Toronto City Hall.

“This campaign was conceived by Canadian Muslims, concerned parents and young people who know that Islam is being tarred with a brush of extremist violence and fanaticism perpetuated by a misguided fringe.”

“Their understanding of Islam is distorted and plain wrong,” affirmed Mustafa. “We wanted to show Canadians, including our children and young people what Islam really stands for - we want to focus on putting forward a positive message and reclaiming our faith in its true essence.”

Mustafa told the crowd that the peace initiative has garnered widespread community support and that he has received inquiries from other cities wishing to hold similar peace gatherings.

“We are not affiliated or associated with one particular organization,” he said.

“However, we have received widespread support from many community members and from our national and local organizations and we are very grateful for that.”

Mustafa went on to issue a call of action to Canadian Muslims to be vocal advocates for the true message of Islam and to become more actively engaged in service activities.

Muslims are the fastest growing religious community in Canada, according to the country’s statistical agency, Statistics Canada.

Canada’s Muslim population increased by 82 percent over the past decade to more than 1 million in 2011. Muslims now represent 3.2 percent of Canada’s total population.