January 29, 2018, marks the one year anniversary of the mass shooting at the Quebec Mosque that took the lives of Azzeddine Soufiane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Ibrahima Barry and Abdelkrim Hassane. A young white man emboldened by the rise of Islamophobia in this country and the decades of wars against Muslim majority countries entered the place of worship targeting and killing these six men and seriously injuring five others. The lack of attention this atrocity has received, the continued rise of reported attacks against Muslims in Canada (253 percent increase between 2012 and 2015), the lack of terrorism charges in relation to this targeted attack, and the community rejection of a Muslim cemetery afterwards are dehumanizing and violent political outcomes that must be addressed head on. Many communities are marking this anniversary and organizing various events below. There is also a request to mark this day as a Day of Action against Islamophobia, at the city and federal level which politicians are dragging their feet on. Please see below.
Jan 29, 12pm, OCASI – Conversation
Jan 29, 7pm, Nathan Phillips Square, Vigil
https://www.facebook.com/events/180821565855219/
Jan 30, 6:30pm, Hart House, Panel: Islamophobia and the Quebec Mosque Shooting
https://www.facebook.com/events/1944762445740994/
Feb 4, 2pm, 123 Wynford Drive, Panel – One year after Quebec Shooting
https://www.facebook.com/events/1416706765123999/