5 years after deadly Quebec mosque shooting, local group wants people to honour victims, fight Islamophobia

Saturday marks five years since six worshippers were shot dead and 19 others were wounded in a Quebec City mosque.

Jan. 29 now marks the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque and Action Against Islamophobia.

The Coalition of Museum Women of Kitchener-Waterloo is urging the community to participate in commemorating the victims, as well as renew its commitment to fighting hate that targets Muslims.

"This is a heavy reminder of what a lot of Muslims face on a daily basis," said Mifrah Abid, coordinator of the 'Together Against Islamophobia' program with the coalition.

"But it's also a reminder that this work needs to be done, that we need to counter it, we need to talk about it, we need to get people on board in fighting it," she added.

See the newly renovated Quebec City mosque that makes worshippers safer and helps them 'turn the page'

3 years ago

Duration 2:51

The former president of the Islamic Cultural Centre gives a tour of the newly renovated mosque that was the site of a deadly attack five years ago.

Action items

Abid said the coalition came out with a list of different ways people can show their solidarity.

"A good ally is not a perfect ally. A good ally is a consistent one … who picks one action, does it meaningfully, consistently and sees it through," she said.

"Not everyone can do everything and that's perfectly OK as long as you do something."

The coalition suggests people who use social media can:

• Post a message honouring the victims and declaring commitment to fight Islamophobia.
• Use these hashtags: #quebecmosqueshooting, #CMWagainstIslamophobia, #WRagainstIslamophobia, #WeRememberJan29, #islamophobia, #stopIslamophobia, #nationaldayofremembrance and #ally.
• Follow the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW on social media and tag the group in solidarity posts.
• Join the Green Square campaign to show solidarity with the victims (the colour green represents the colour of the carpets of the Quebec City mosque).

The group says organizations can:

• Hold a minute of silence on Saturday.
• Arrange for anti-Islamophobia training sessions for staff.

The group says individuals can:

• Join the action against Bill 21, Quebec's religious symbols ban.
• Spread awareness through conversations with others.
• Report Islamophobia, racism or xenophobia. The coalition has it's own reporting tool or if it's an emergency, call 911.

The coalition sent this list of action items to several people and organizations including local politicians, school boards, police services and local colleges and universities.

"We have great partnerships in the community, and everyone has been so responsive, so supportive," Abid said.

She said the region and the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo have also agreed to light up their streetlights and buildings green on Saturday in honour of the victims. 

More work to be done

Since the 2017 Quebec massacre, the Muslim community has faced more harm with a growing number of hate motivated attacks including the deadly attack on the Afzaal family this past summer in London. The family was out for a walk when police say a truck intentionally ran them over, killing four members of the family and injuring the sole 9-year-old survivor.

More recently, a Quebec elementary school teacher was reassigned from her job because of she wore a hijab, which contravenes the province's controversial and highly criticized Bill 21 law forbidding public sector employees from wearing religious symbols.

"It's mind boggling that even in a democratic country like Canada, something like this Bill 21 exists and I'll call it out. It is state-sanctioned Islamophobia … it kind of legitimizes this exclusion and this discrimination against Muslims," Abid said.

City councils across Canada have condemned the law, throwing their support behind legal challenges to the law. Waterloo regional council approved a motion this week that calls on the federal government and MPs to support legal challenges against the bill.

"The law violates the Canadian Charter guarantee of freedom of religious expression and impacts many faith communities. The resolution will be shared with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and with local municipal councils," a regional press statement said.

Abid said the coalition is working with equity teams with the city of Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, as well a the Region of Waterloo, to implement changes to better protect the Muslim community.