On Jan. 29, let’s all take action against hate
For Muslims, this is a poignant and sorrowful day, says Areeb Faruqi.
Remember these names:
Ibrahima Barry, 39, Quebec Revenue Agency; Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, IT professional; Khaled Belkacemi, 60, professor of soil and agri-food engineering, Laval University; Aboubaker Thabti, 44, pharmacy worker; Abdelkrim Hassane, 41, program analyst; and Azzedine Soufiane, 57, grocery shop owner. All husbands and fathers. All murdered on Jan. 29, 2017.
Their crime? Being Muslim and peacefully engaging in congregational evening prayers at their local mosque, the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec, in Quebec City.
There were also 19 other victims shot and injured, some seriously, including Aymen Derbali, left paralyzed from the shoulders down after his body was riddled with seven bullets. And of course the six widows, the 17 now fatherless children, the youngest age two, and an entire community bereft, terrorized and victimized — alive, but brutally traumatized by this heinous crime of Islamophobia, hate and intolerance.
The Islamic Association of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) Inc. commends the Government of Saskatchewan for Proclaiming Jan. 29 a provincial Day of Action Against Hate and Intolerance. We also commend the City of Saskatoon for issuing the same proclamation on July 29, 2019.
For Muslims, this is a particularly poignant and sorrowful day. Although three years have since passed, the legacy of death, suffering and heartache continues as the survivors and families work to reclaim their lives. We grieve with and for them, but we are not broken. We pray to Allah that they be granted mercy and ease during this time of deep and prolonged suffering and loss.
Although Jan. 29 will forever be marked by that crime of hate and intolerance at this Quebec City mosque, Muslims throughout our province and Canada realize that this event also reflects a larger stain on our nation’s collective conscience: the litany of hate, intolerance and violence that has erupted against other identifiable groups in our country who have each suffered, and continue to suffer, from hate.
Whether it be violent misogyny perpetrated against our sisters; anti-semitism plaguing our Jewish community members; discrimination against Sikhs, Chinese and the internment of Japanese Canadians; the legacy of colonial racism, violence and exclusion befalling our First Nations, Métis, and Inuit brothers and sisters; the scourge of trans and homophobia and numerous other acts of hate against those deemed “other” or “less than.”
Proclaiming this day is official recognition of the reality of the various strains of hate and intolerance that exist in our country, including Islamophobia, and the bigotry, hostility and physical violence that has befallen Muslims, which ultimately resulted in the needless death and disability of many in Quebec City with more at risk elsewhere.
This day also provides space for us to reflect on all those who experience marginalization, systemic discrimination, racism and violence, as well as other forms of intolerance and hate. In the words of the chief commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission: “It is essential that we stand up, speak out, and challenge the words and actions that are wrong, harmful and divisive. Our citizenship demands this fundamental responsibility.” Engaging in respectful, courageous and important conversations about our religious, ethnic, social and related differences provides us with opportunities to work together to create greater understanding, acceptance and solidarity so that unspeakable crimes, such as that perpetrated on Jan. 29, 2017, never again occur.
Canadians from all walks of life from coast to coast to coast must take a principled stand in solidarity with all those who suffer intolerance, and against all those who seek to divide our nation through hate and violence.
By proclaiming Jan. 29 as a provincial Day of Action Against Hate and Intolerance, the Government of Saskatchewan has done precisely that and has reaffirmed our province’s motto: “Multis e gentibus vires: from many peoples, strength.”
There will be a brief public remembrance at the Saskatoon Islamic Centre, 222 Copland Cres., Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Everyone who would like to come together in solidarity to support Muslims in our community and elsewhere, and all those who have or continue to experience hate and intolerance, are welcome to attend.