Why we must always remember
Just two days before the upcoming anniversary of the attack on a Quebec City mosque five years ago, people around the world will be marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Both commemorations are a reminder of the significant dangers that hate and division continue to pose to our societies and reinforce the need for collective remembrance and action.
Thursday (Jan. 27) was designated as an international memorial to remember the victims of the Holocaust. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) describes it as a way to reaffirm “unwavering commitment to counter antisemitism, racism, and other forms of intolerance that may lead to group-targeted violence.”
The threat persists nearly 80 years since the mass murder of approximately six million Jewish people.
The frightening hostage-taking at a synagogue in Colleyville, Tex. on Jan. 15 was only the latest highprofile example of this scourge.
Even in that attack, it took time for the FBI to acknowledge that it was related to this form of hatred. “The episode reflects the general ignorance about anti-Semitism even among people of goodwill,” noted Yair Rosenberg in the Atlantic magazine. “Unlike many other bigotries, anti-Semitism is not merely a social prejudice; it is a conspiracy theory about how the world operates.”
Rosenberg rightly points out that such misguided ideologies are a threat to democracy itself.
In an act of interfaith solidarity, the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council committed to “use this incident to achieve greater understanding and to work together to combat all forms of hatred, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
Here in Canada, Saturday will be marked for the first time this year as a nationally designated day of “Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia.”
It took four years of advocacy by community activists and allies to secure permanent recognition and to see the term “Islamophobia” gain wider acceptance.
“This day will serve as a reminder that we must always be vigilant in combating Islamophobia and intolerance in all their forms. Individually and collectively, we must always be aware that we reap what we sow, and that we must strive for understanding, peace and respect,” said Joël Lightbound, member of Parliament for Louis-Hébert, the riding in which the shocking killing of six Quebec Muslims, and the injury of many others, took place.
Commemorative days are valuable tools to provide space to explore and amplify the experiences of communities and to share in collective grieving. There are various ways that people can show allyship, including participating in the National Council of Canadian Muslims’ Green Square campaign, which this year will include the lighting in green of major monuments across the country, including the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, the Calgary Tower and the Edmonton High Lever Bridge.
And as difficult as it is to explain to our children why anyone would target people simply because of their various personal identities, they can be encouraged to post pictures of love and support on social media or join a public letter-writing campaign started by a GTA-based artist who created a digital storytelling portal aimed at confronting Islamophobia. Educators can also access the range of resources provided by organizations like the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and through provincially funded projects.
There are also tools available to employers and workers looking for strategies to create more inclusive workplaces, including a 2019 guide by the Canadian Labour Congress, titled Islamophobia at Work: Challenges and Opportunities.
As for online spaces, the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Toronto recently received federal funding to develop “strategies to empower young people to respond to the dissemination of hate.”
Domestic and international manifestations of antisemitism and Islamophobia aren’t disappearing — but we must take every opportunity to better understand what’s at stake if we do nothing.
AMIRA ELGHAWABY IS AN OTTAWABASED