Prayers and memorials mark first anniversary of mosque massacre
Many faiths gather to remember victims of ‘illness of hate’ in Quebec City
Dozens of people clutching bright carnations gathered Sunday at the Kanata Recreation Complex for a multi-faith prayer of peace and remembrance for the six killed and 19 wounded when a gunman opened fire in a Quebec City mosque during prayers on Jan. 29, 2017.
One by one, six schoolchildren rose and each read the name of one of the dead as the victims’ smiling faces were projected on a screen: Mamadou Tanou Barry, Azzeddine Soufiane, Abdelkrim Hassane, Ibrahima Barry, Aboubaker Thabti and Khaled Belkacem. From a butcher to a university professor, each left a widow and fatherless children.
Local faith leaders — Christians from the United, Anglican and Catholic churches, the rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadas and Imam Sikander Hashemi of the host Kanata Muslim Association — each offered prayers for the dead and grieving and for healing from hatred.
Hashemi recalled the night a year ago when “the unthinkable” happened — a fear he’d entertained but never believed would happen in Canada.
“What must not be forgotten is the love and support and solidarity we witnessed in the days following that terrible day and the love and solidarity we continue to witness today,” he said. “For that, we are eternally grateful.”
And it inspires the fight against the kind of sickness that leads to attacks on mosques or churches and incidents of anti- Semitism, he said.
“We all have a responsibility to help eradicate this illness of hate.”
The Kanata Muslim Association also presented a $1,000 donation for the Queensway Carleton Hospital’s Hope Rising Campaign in the name of the dead to city councillors Marianne Wilkinson and Eli El-Chantiry.
The association is also fundraising for an accessible home for Aymen Derbali, who tried to distract the gunman so fellow worshippers could escape and was himself shot and left paralyzed.
As noted by the organizers of a second prayer service, scheduled for Sunday evening at Knox Presbyterian Church, the dead and wounded were targeted by a white supremacist in an act of hate because they were Muslim.
“This is the only time in Canadian history when a gunman walked into a house of worship with the intent to murder those at prayer,” organizers said.
Alexandre Bissonnette, a 28-year-old former student at Université Laval, is facing six first-degree murder charges and six attempted-murder charges. His trial is scheduled to start March 26.
Today will be a day of action and remembrance, with events in and around Ottawa City Hall.
From noon to 5:30 p.m., there’s a memorial in Jean Pigott Place with the opportunity to send a message of condolence and support to the families of the dead. A vigil at the Human Rights Monument runs from 5:30 to 6 p.m. A remembrance ceremony is in council chambers from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The documentary Your Last Walk in the Mosque screens at 7:45 p.m.
What must not be forgotten is the love and support and solidarity we witnessed in the days following that terrible day.