OTTAWA – A leading Canadian Muslim group has welcomed the “thoughtful” apology tendered  by the owner of an Ottawa restaurant for an Instagram post considered anti-Muslims, CTV News reported.

“A thoughtful response after a thoughtless social media post that hurt many in our communities,” the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) tweeted.

“@nccm warmly welcomes this important apology today from the @wellingtondiner #cdnmuslims #StopTheHate @Wellington_West.”

A thoughtful response after a thoughtless social media post that hurt many in our communities. @nccm warmly welcomes this important apology today from the @wellingtondiner #cdnmuslims #StopTheHate @Wellington_West https://t.co/LnfxPVpi3m

— NCCM (@nccm) August 29, 2018

The NCCM was commenting on the apology offered by restaurant owner Jeffrey Frost over a 2016-post on the Instagram account of the Wellington Diner.

The said post contained an image of a sandwich board bearing the message “Eating two strips of bacon for breakfast reduces your chance of being a suicide bomber by 100%.”

Frost said he regrets sharing a post that “perpetuated offensive stereotypes.”

“The post was hurtful, and it sets back the work that many in Ottawa are doing to try to counter the harm that racism does in our city,” he said.

“It was thoughtless and unacceptable and I sincerely apologize to the Muslim community and anyone else who was offended by the image.”

Muslims represent 3.2 percent of Canada’s total population, according to Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey.

A 2016 survey by the Environics showed the overwhelming majority of Muslims are proud to be Canadian.