Five years after an attack at a Quebec City mosque that claimed the lives of six people and injured 19, survivors and Muslim community members will gather on Saturday to close off a week of events marking the tragedy.
Five years after a deadly attack at a Quebec City mosque that claimed the lives of six people and injured 19, survivors and Muslim community members will gather on Saturday to end a week of events surrounding the tragedy.
Mosque leaders say the anniversary represents a significant moment in remembering the fallen and those whose lives were changed forever on the night of Jan. 29, 2017, when a gunman entered the city’s Islamic Cultural Centre in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood and opened fire.
Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti were gunned down shortly after evening prayers had ended at the mosque.
“Today, we pay tribute to the victims of this hateful act of terror, who were senselessly killed at the hands of bigotry, Islamophobia, and racism,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement Saturday.
“We express solidarity with the survivors and those injured, the families and friends who lost a loved one, and all the communities of Quebec City and across Canada whose lives have been changed forever.”
The fifth anniversary of the attack marks the first official National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia, proclaimed by the federal government in April 2021.
An official ceremony is scheduled to take place Saturday outside the Quebec City mosque at 6 p.m. ET. Survivors and relatives of the victims will deliver speeches, and Quebec Premier François Legault and Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand are among those expected to attend.
Due to the pandemic, the event will be live streamed, and the public is asked to follow the event online.
In Montreal, a vigil is planned for 5 p.m. ET on Saturday at Parc Metro station, in the city’s Parc-Extension neighbourhood, to honour the victims of the shooting.
The event, organized by founders of Muslim Awareness Week (MAW), will feature guest speakers before a moment of silence is observed.
“The attack on the CCIQ in 2017 and its impact on our society should not be forgotten and we should deal with its root causes in a serious manner,” said Ehab Lotayef, co-founder and former president of MAW.
In Ottawa, organizers of an in-person vigil commemorating the victims have moved the event online, citing safety concerns arising out of the presence of a convoy protesting vaccine mandates in Ottawa on Saturday.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) has launched a campaign asking people to wear green squares to show their solidarity with the victims of the attack and to denounce Islamophobia. Green represents the colour of the carpets of the Quebec City mosque, where the victims last stood to pray.
WATCH | Green square campaign raise awareness about Islamophobia:
Green Square Campaign raises awareness on 5th anniversary of Quebec mosque shooting
In the week leading up to Jan. 29, the Green Square Campaign honours the victims and survivors of the Quebec City mosque attack. Organizers are also working to raise awareness about Islamophobia. 2:29
As part of the campaign, Montreal’s Samuel de Champlain Bridge, along with a number of buildings across Canada, will be lit in green on Saturday night.
“Islamophobia has claimed more victims since that night,” Lina El Bakr, Quebec Advocacy Officer at the NCCM, said in a release in reference to the mosque attack.
“There is no doubt that we as a country have our work cut out for us. We have heard our elected leaders denounce the violence Canadian Muslims have endured, but action has been slow and piecemeal. It is time for us all to go beyond words and take action.”
Calls for stronger gun control, end to Islamophobia
Since the attack, the Islamic Cultural Centre has undergone extensive upgrades to ensure Muslim worshippers feel safe inside.
Six vibrant portraits of the men killed in the attack are also adorning the walls of the mosque this weekend to honour their humanity. But outside the mosque’s walls, members of the province’s Muslim community paint a different picture.
WATCH | Helping worshippers heal after tragedy:
See the newly renovated Quebec City mosque that makes worshippers safer and helps them ‘turn the page’
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. 2:51
In a series of events held mainly online this week due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the community is calling for more government action to fight Islamophobia, including changing parts of Quebec’s controversial secularism law, known as Bill 21, and toughening Canada’s gun control laws.
At a Thursday news conference, Boufeldja Benabdallah said Premier François Legault’s refusal to acknowledge Islamophobia in the province is hindering progress in Quebec.
“In Quebec, our premier does not acknowledge systemic racism or Islamophobia as existing,” said Benabdallah, the co-founder of the mosque where the tragedy took place.
“We need to take action, and action is the fight against discrimination and systemic racism; it is the fight against guns that kill our children, our adults.”
WATCH | Artist honours the six men killed by painting a portrait of each:
‘They were real people with real lives, real families, real dreams.’
Visual artist, Aquil Virani, spent over two years painting the portraits of the six men who were killed in the shooting on Jan. 29, 2017 at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City. 2:10
Five years after an attack at a Quebec City mosque that claimed the lives of six people and injured 19, survivors and Muslim community members will gather on Saturday to close off a week of events marking the tragedy.Commemorative events marking the fifth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque attack came to a head Saturday. The six men who died in the mass shooting are, clockwise from top left, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Azzeddine Soufiane, Abdelkrim Hassane, Ibrahima Barry, Aboubaker Thabti and Khaled Belkacemi. (CBC)Five years after a deadly attack at a Quebec City mosque that claimed the lives of six people and injured 19, survivors and Muslim community members will gather on Saturday to end a week of events surrounding the tragedy. Mosque leaders say the anniversary represents a significant moment in remembering the fallen and those whose lives were changed forever on the night of Jan. 29, 2017, when a gunman entered the city’s Islamic Cultural Centre in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood and opened fire. Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti were gunned down shortly after evening prayers had ended at the mosque. “Today, we pay tribute to the victims of this hateful act of terror, who were senselessly killed at the hands of bigotry, Islamophobia, and racism,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement Saturday. “We express solidarity with the survivors and those injured, the families and friends who lost a loved one, and all the communities of Quebec City and across Canada whose lives have been changed forever.” The names of the six men who died in the 2017 attack are immortalized in stone near the mosque in Quebec City. The leaves linking the plinths are based on maple and elm leaves collected from the grounds of the site, and stylized in the artistic traditions of the mens’ birth countries (Courtesy of Quebec City) The fifth anniversary of the attack marks the first official National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia, proclaimed by the federal government in April 2021. An official ceremony is scheduled to take place Saturday outside the Quebec City mosque at 6 p.m. ET. Survivors and relatives of the victims will deliver speeches, and Quebec Premier François Legault and Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand are among those expected to attend. Due to the pandemic, the event will be live streamed, and the public is asked to follow the event online. In Montreal, a vigil is planned for 5 p.m. ET on Saturday at Parc Metro station, in the city’s Parc-Extension neighbourhood, to honour the victims of the shooting. The event, organized by founders of Muslim Awareness Week (MAW), will feature guest speakers before a moment of silence is observed. “The attack on the CCIQ in 2017 and its impact on our society should not be forgotten and we should deal with its root causes in a serious manner,” said Ehab Lotayef, co-founder and former president of MAW. In Ottawa, organizers of an in-person vigil commemorating the victims have moved the event online, citing safety concerns arising out of the presence of a convoy protesting vaccine mandates in Ottawa on Saturday. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) has launched a campaign asking people to wear green squares to show their solidarity with the victims of the attack and to denounce Islamophobia. Green represents the colour of the carpets of the Quebec City mosque, where the victims last stood to pray. WATCH | Green square campaign raise awareness about Islamophobia: Green Square Campaign raises awareness on 5th anniversary of Quebec mosque shootingIn the week leading up to Jan. 29, the Green Square Campaign honours the victims and survivors of the Quebec City mosque attack. Organizers are also working to raise awareness about Islamophobia. 2:29 As part of the campaign, Montreal’s Samuel de Champlain Bridge, along with a number of buildings across Canada, will be lit in green on Saturday night. “Islamophobia has claimed more victims since that night,” Lina El Bakr, Quebec Advocacy Officer at the NCCM, said in a release in reference to the mosque attack. “There is no doubt that we as a country have our work cut out for us. We have heard our elected leaders denounce the violence Canadian Muslims have endured, but action has been slow and piecemeal. It is time for us all to go beyond words and take action.” Calls for stronger gun control, end to Islamophobia Since the attack, the Islamic Cultural Centre has undergone extensive upgrades to ensure Muslim worshippers feel safe inside. Six vibrant portraits of the men killed in the attack are also adorning the walls of the mosque this weekend to honour their humanity. But outside the mosque’s walls, members of the province’s Muslim community paint a different picture. WATCH | Helping worshippers heal after tragedy: See the newly renovated Quebec City mosque that makes worshippers safer and helps them ‘turn the page’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. 2:51 In a series of events held mainly online this week due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the community is calling for more government action to fight Islamophobia, including changing parts of Quebec’s controversial secularism law, known as Bill 21, and toughening Canada’s gun control laws. At a Thursday news conference, Boufeldja Benabdallah said Premier François Legault’s refusal to acknowledge Islamophobia in the province is hindering progress in Quebec. “In Quebec, our premier does not acknowledge systemic racism or Islamophobia as existing,” said Benabdallah, the co-founder of the mosque where the tragedy took place. “We need to take action, and action is the fight against discrimination and systemic racism; it is the fight against guns that kill our children, our adults.” WATCH | Artist honours the six men killed by painting a portrait of each: ‘They were real people with real lives, real families, real dreams.’Visual artist, Aquil Virani, spent over two years painting the portraits of the six men who were killed in the shooting on Jan. 29, 2017 at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City. 2:10