Events Planned to Remember Victims of 2017 Quebec Mosque Attack
They have been planned as the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia nears.
On Jan 29, 2017, worshippers in the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre located in a suburb of Quebec City were attacked by Alexandre Bissonnette in one of the largest mass shootings in Canadian history. Described by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as an “act of terror,” six men were killed and 19 were injured, five critically.
The main local gathering on the anniversary of the attack will be an interfaith event at the Islamic Centre of Kingston on Sydenham Road.
“What usually happens is that whether you’re sharing prayers or you’re sharing words, you see the commonality that people have across the faiths and no faiths,” Mona Rahman, an educator at the Islamic Centre of Kingston and research awards co-ordinator at Queen’s University, said. “That in itself brings people together because you focus on the human side of these terrible, terrible things.”
Rahman noted that the loss of Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassan, Azzedine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti resulted in six widows and 17 children to grow up without their fathers.
To honor them, and those who tried to save them, this week individuals are encouraged to wear a small green square pinned to their clothing this week until the anniversary. The green represents the color of the carpet that was in the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre’s prayer room.
“It also represents the gardens in heaven,” Rahman said. “When somebody is killed in this type of situation, we consider them as martyrs and believe that they go straight to heaven.”
In addition to the Green Square Campaign, there are a number of events leading up to the anniversary next Monday and on Jan 31.
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On Thursday, starting at 6 p.m., on Zoom, there will be a panel discussion titled “What does Islamophobia look like Today?” hosted by Queen’s University’s Muslim Societies, Global Perspectives historian Adnan Husain and featuring Hatem Bazian of UC Berkeley, Dana Olwan of Syracuse University and Ariel Salzmann, also of Queen’s University.
Rahman said she expects the panel to be “incredible.” The Facebook event page, with the same title, can be found at www.facebook.com/events/2039489323094231.
On the anniversary, Kingston City Hall will be illuminated in green, and the interfaith community event, called “Prayers for Peace and Remembrance for Victims of the Quebec City Mosque Attack” and hosted by the Islamic Society of Kingston at Islamic Centre of Kingston (1477 Sydenham Rd.), will take place from 6-7:30 p.m.
“This (attack) really did affect everybody in Canada,” Rahman said, which is why they’ve invited those of all different faiths to join them to stand against Islamophobia.
The day is also about taking action to make change and ensuring the six men’s deaths are not in vain, Rahman said. It also highlights more recent instances of Islamophobia, including the murders of Salman Afzaal, 46; his wife, Madiha Salman, 44; their daughter Yumnah, 15; and Afzaal’s mother, Talat, 74, in London, Ont., in June 2021.
“For us as Muslims, we’re always told of those who have faith and do good deeds,” Rahman said. “It’s like putting your faith into action, and this is one of the ways. We’re not just using this day to remember that those who are lost, or remember what happened, but also to use that as a stimulus to work to change so that it doesn’t happen again.”
Source: thewhig.com
