The Council of Canadians partnered with artists Melisse Watson and Syrus Marcus Ware to create these portraits to commemorate the six victims of the attack on a mosque in Quebec City on January 29 2017: Azzeddine Soufiane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Ibrahima Barry and Abdelkrim Hassane. Melisse Watson and Syrus Marcus

11
Feb

2018

#RememberJan29: Commemorating the Lives Lost in the Quebec City Mosque Attack Across Canada

Written by Chelby Daigle

Published in News

On January 29th, 2017, six Muslims were murdered and nineteen injured at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada.

A year later, Canadians found a variety of ways to commemorate this tragedy.

Canadian media interviews their family and friends

https://twitter.com/CBCMontreal/status/958116444222435329
https://twitter.com/CBCQuebecAM/status/957929185762271232

Dawanet was able to successfully raise over $400,000 for an accessible home for Aymen Derbali and his family.
https://twitter.com/DawaNetCanada/status/962675476375404544

"Your Last Walk in the Mosque", Dawanet's documentary about the impact of the Quebec mosque attack on the families of those who died and the Muslim community in Quebec City was screened at Ottawa City Hall and Hamilton City Hall on January 29th.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne spoke at a screening of the film at the Noor Cultural Centre in early February.

https://twitter.com/Kathleen_Wynne/status/960275756327858181

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) called upon the Canadian federal government to officially recognize January 29 as the Day for Remembrance and Action against Islamophobia.

That didn't happen.

However, the day has now been officially recognized in the following cities:

St. John's, Newfoundland
https://twitter.com/nccm/status/956941944210456577

Markam, Ontario
https://twitter.com/frankscarpitti/status/956264145455755264

Hamilton, Ontario
https://twitter.com/MGreenWard3/status/956319712463507456

Toronto, Ontario
https://twitter.com/NeethanShan/status/959212647244812289

Brantford, Ontaro
https://twitter.com/nccm/status/959169536292474881

Vancouver, BC
https://twitter.com/VanMayorsOffice/status/958142168576638976

Also, Ontario MPP Dr. Shafiq Qaadri will be introducing a motion this month for the day to be officially recognized by the province of Ontario.

The City of Ottawa proclaimed a day against hatred and bigotry but avoided using the term "Islamophobia".
https://twitter.com/SWCN1/status/958173609729712130

With the hashtag #RememberJan29 Canadians reflected on the impact of the Quebec Mosque attack via social media. Many of these reflections have been compiled on this website.
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedCanada/status/957965325898788865

This article was produced exclusively for Muslim Link and should not be copied without prior permission from the site. For permission, please write to info@muslimlink.ca.

Chelby Daigle

Chelby Marie Daigle is Muslim Link’s Editor in Chief and Coordinator. Under her direction, Muslim Link adopted its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy so that the website strives to reflect the complexity of Muslim communities in Canada. She knows that she fails to do justice to this complexity every day but she will continue to try to improve as she recognizes the frustration of being both marginalized in the mainstream and also marginalized in Muslim communities. As Coordinator, she works to build relationships with Muslim and mainstream organizations and manages the website's social media, event listings, and directories. She organizes regular Muslim Link gatherings. She also works closely with the Publisher to find ways to keep Muslim Link sustainable. Find her on Twitter @ChelbyDaigle