Daughter of mosque shooting victim to the intolerant, prejudiced: ‘hate is not worth it’

Megda Belkacemi was among the 17 children who lost their father when a gunman launched an attack on a mosque in Quebec City five years ago.

Belkacemi’s father Khaled was one of six men gunned down by the shooter at the Islamic Cultural Centre on Jan. 29, 2017.

She has been living with that pain for five years.

“Usually I call my father to have his, to get his advice,” she said. “And well, I don’t, I can’t do that anymore. Of course.”

Mamadou Tanou Barry, Abdelkrim Hassane, Aboubaker Thabti, Azzeddine Soufiane and Ibrahima Barry also lost their lives that night.

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The shooter walked in while the men were wrapping up the evening’s Isha prayer. It turned out to be their last.

Belkacemi describes her father as a man who was always there for her – her shoulder to lean on.

“My father was a very kind man, quiet, discreet,” she said. “But he loved to cook, to enjoy life.”

Khaled Belkacemi with his daughter Megda. (Credit: Megda Belkacemi/handout)

Belkacemi’s parents left Algeria in the 1990s to escape the violence that surrounded them every day.

“They got scared because at the time the terrorists were attacking the intellectuals, the teachers, journalists,” she recounted. “My father, one of his colleagues actually died in the ‘90s, he was killed by the terrorists. And that’s why they moved back to Canada.”

Khaled was a professor at Laval University in the faculty of agriculture and food sciences, where he taught hundreds of students. Belkacemi felt her father made a real impact on his students and the community, until his life was cut short.

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She says having to relive what happened to her father has been difficult, and it’s not over yet.

In March, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the case of shooter Alexandre Bissonnette, who pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree murder and six of attempted murder.

He was sentenced originally to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole. In November 2020, that time before parole was reduced to 25 years after the appeal court found the consecutive sentencing provision to be unconstitutional.

Belkacemi fears having to go through it all again.

“I will have in the future to go to the commission of parole and experience that episode again and again.”

Credit: Megda Belkacemi/handout

Belkacemi says hate and Islamophobia have no place in this world.

“The hate is not worth it. The only thing it will do is to break other families, other communities.”

She says the nightmare her father and other worshippers endured will not prevent her from practising her faith. She knows exactly what her father would tell her in moments of doubt.

“He would tell me to stay strong,” she said. “So, I think that’s why I continue to go to the mosque and to go to other activities.”