Vigil held in honour of men killed in Quebec-City mosque shooting

Dozens came together in Montreal’s Parc-Extension to honour the lives of the six Muslim men who were killed in the Quebec mosque shooting on Jan. 29, 2017.

“I value humanity and diversity so I think we connect a lot even if it’s through suffering,” said one Montrealer.

“It’s important to remember them because this keeps them alive,” said Samaa Elibyari, a board member of Muslim Awareness Week (MAW).

19 others were also injured during the attack in 2017 and it’s considered one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history. Jan. 29 marks the National Day of Remembrance for the 2017 Quebec City mosque attack which also falls during Muslim Awareness Week which takes place Jan. 25 to Jan. 31.

“The initiative, it was born after it was revealed that the attacker in Quebec City was motivated through fear and hate. This came to him through the internet. So, we as Muslims we’re wondering, ‘How we can live in the society without fearing for ourselves and for our children?’ and we thought, he was misguided, he was misinformed. So, our objective, to let our society know, what are our accomplishments, our aspirations, our concerns,” said Elibyari.

“This is an attack on all Muslims,” said Mahmoud Khalil, co-founder of Montreal4Palestine.

“Islamophobia is a very real thing and it’s been present in our lives since before 2017…it’s something we have to raise awareness on because we are not learning from the past,” said Khalil.

Khalil says the government has a role in educating people on Islamophobia.

“For example, school institutions…not allowing people to wear the Palestinian [keffiyeh], saying this is a symbol of terrorism. This is my culture. What are you telling people when someone doesn’t know about Palestine, then you tell them this is a symbol of terrorism? They will think that all these students…are terrorists and doing something like that to them is justified,” added Khalil.

“The public knows about us from the media, and the way the media projects us, they talk about news that happens from faraway places and this is projected on us. Our reality is quite different, and this is the reality that is not shown and evidently this is the reality that is not known,” said Elibyari.

“I would say to our fellow citizens, get to know Muslims. This will be the best way to connect with them and the best way to know us and the best way to dispel all the myths that surround us.”