McGill University students hold event to honour 2017 Quebec City Mosque shooting victims
Posted January 30, 2023 3:19 pm.
Last Updated January 30, 2023 6:48 pm.
Students at McGill University alongside Muslim Awareness Week held an event Monday in commemoration of the January 29, 2017, Quebec City Mosque shooting victims – shining a light on what Quebecers can do to help fight Islamophobia.
“They have done nothing wrong but practice their religion. Many innocent worshippers could have been in their place. I could have been in their place,” said Salam El-Mousawi, co-founder and spokesperson for Muslim Awareness Week.
Students part of the Muslim Students Organization walkig to lay six roses on for each victim.
“Islamophobia manifests itself in all aspects of our lives, it’s affecting us in many ways and in everyday life. It’s not something abstract. It’s not an isolated incident. It can take many forms. Of course, some of them are quite violent, but it’s the day to day small incidents that make us feel insecure and that makes us feel unwelcome into this society,” said Samaa Elbiyari, Canadian Council of Muslim Women.
“We cannot ignore the continued presence of ignorance and Islamophobia that still lives among us. So I would like for all of us, starting today and for every day moving forward, to commit to going the extra mile and eliminating that ignorance and Islamophobia.”
Those at the event stood for a moment of silence.
The event for those in attendance is a way to highlight the Islamophobia they face in everyday life but also a day to ask for change.
“When you enter a room, you’re always conscious that you’re in. You may be the only person like that there. When you go to a class, when you go to a conference when you’re going into the hospital or a clinic where we work. You’re very conscious of the fact that, yes, you stand out, yes, you may be different and how to bring that into your interactions with the people that you’re talking to,” explained Sarah Khan, McGill masters student.
“I believe that the true inclusion of Muslims in Quebec and Canada will actualize when we all do our part to simply be us fully, unapologetically, in every space that we find ourselves in,” said Weeam Ben-Rejebe, the Centre Culturel Islamique De Québec Memorial Award recipient.
“There are so many stories, but we are tired of telling them. And those stories will keep existing so long as we are viewed as the other. So long as there are laws like Bill 21. And so long as our agency, identity and place in society continues to be questioned and debated.”
Roses placed on a McGill University plaque commemorating the victims of the attack.
A moment of silence was held remembering the 2017 mass shooting. Students part of the Muslim Students Organization also laid six roses — one for each victim of the attack.
“Your dear sacrifice will not be in vain,” said El-Mousawi as he read out the names of the six victims. “We will continue our struggle for justice. We will beat discrimination, and we will bring peace to all.”
McGill University and Muslim Awareness Week event commemorating Quebec City Mosque shooting victims.
