Synagogue attack hits close to home for Quebec City mosque

MONTREAL — For leaders of a Quebec City mosque that was the site of a mass murder carried out by a lone gunman in 2017, the killings of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday hit close to home.

“It reminds us of the difficult moments we went through, and it brings back some of that worry,” Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec co-founder Boufeldja Benabdallah said in an interview Monday.

The centre’s board released a statement expressing “heartfelt condolences” to Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, where 11 worshippers were killed at a Sabbath service.

“The madness of men once again struck our Jewish neighbours of Pittsburgh ... who were only praying in a sacred and untouchable place,” the board wrote in the statement.

“This act is of enormous gravity and cannot leave us indifferent,” it continued. “Today we understand very well the pain that Jewish families feel, and we are wholeheartedly with them.”

In Quebec City, six worshippers were killed and 19 others were injured in the January 2017 attack at a mosque.

In the months since the attack, Benabdallah said, a new reality has set in at the mosque. Open doors have given way to concrete barriers near the front door.

In Ottawa, more than 300 people packed into the Soloway Jewish Community Centre for a Sunday memorial service, taking every available chair — except 11, left vacant on the stage.