A makeshift memorial for victims of a shooting at a Quebec City mosque, on Jan. 31, 2017.ALICE CHICHE/AFP
Ceremonies marking the fourth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting began Friday with a call on Ottawa for more action on gun control and for Quebec to recognize the existence of Islamophobia.
Boufeldja Benabdallah, co-founder of the mosque where six men were killed in 2017, said the federal government’s decision to name Jan. 29 – the day of the 2017 attack – as a national day of remembrance is a step toward healing for the victims and for society.
Remembering the tragedy will also help prevent similar events from happening in the future, he said at a news conference Friday morning. And while he lauded Ottawa for creating the day of remembrance, he said the government hasn’t done enough to get handguns off the market.
“Guns killed the fathers of families, guns wounded the fathers of families,” he said. “We don’t want these guns anymore.” He said while Ottawa has taken action on military-style weapons, it also needs to ban handguns.
Mr. Benabdallah and several other members of the mosque thanked Quebeckers for their outpouring of compassion and support in the aftermath of the attack and in the years that followed.
Abderrahim Loukili, president of the mosque, known as the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre, said sharing hugs and having close contact with people will be missed this year because many of the commemorations moved online.
The day of remembrance announced by Ottawa Thursday will also be a day of action against Islamophobia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “On this sombre anniversary, we honour the memory of the victims of this hateful act of Islamophobia and racism. Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones who continue to suffer and to all the residents of Quebec City whose community has been forever changed by this tragedy.”
Quebec Premier François Legault, however, refused to use the term Islamophobia a news conference on Thursday, instead describing the attack as an act of “racism.”
Sebastien Bouchard, one of the organizers of the commemorations, said that Islamophobia needs to be recognized and named. Nora Loreto, another organizer, said, “We will always remember that this wasn’t a random act of violence, that this was an act of targeted terrorist violence against six Muslim men.”
Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzeddine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti were killed and five others wounded shortly after finishing evening prayers on Jan. 29, 2017.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
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