National Day of Remembrance of the Québec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia
National Day of Remembrance of the Québec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia
On the evening of January 29, 2017, a person entered the Islamic Cultural Centre in Québec City and killed six people and injured 19 others. This act of terror has forever altered the lives of the victims’ families and friends, the survivors, and of Muslim communities across Canada. More than that, it was a clear attempt to frighten Muslims in a safe and peaceful sanctuary and fray the fabric of society.
Since 2021, January 29 has been observed as a National Day of Remembrance of the Québec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia.
Islamophobia includes fear, prejudice and hatred directed towards Muslims. It can spark provocation, foster hostility and breed intolerance in the form of online and offline threats, harassment, abuse and intimidation towards Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Driven by institutional, ideological, political and religious animosity that can evolve into structural and cultural racism, Islamophobia targets the symbols and followers of Islam.
In Canada, there are about 1.8 million Muslims, representing 4% of the population. From 2016 to 2021, Canada was the G7 country with the highest number of Muslims killed in hate-motivated targeted attacks.
The attack on the Islamic Cultural Centre in Québec City serves as a stark reminder that ignorance is a plague that fuels fear, which all too often turns into hatred. Indifference to Islamophobia can be equally reprehensible because it tolerates the isolation, marginalization and othering of people from minority groups. Education is the key.
The Green Square Campaign
The green square represents the green carpets of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Québec City on which the victims last knelt in prayer. It symbolizes the hope that the deceased are now at peace in a green garden.
In the week leading up to January 29, wear the green square in memory of the victims and in solidarity with the survivors, their families and friends, and Canada’s Muslim communities. In addition, request that your local monuments and landmarks, like city halls and bridges, be lit in green.
The Green Square Campaign is a call to action for all Canadians to stand in solidarity with Canadian Muslims in their fight for a society free of hatred and Islamophobia, well beyond January 29.
In remembrance of
Abdelkrim Hassane
Aboubaker Thabti
Azzedine Soufiane
Ibrahima Barry
Mamadou Tanou Barry
Khaled Belkacemi
Deveta godišnjica teroristi?kog napada u Quebecu:
Islamofobiji nije mjesto u Kanadi i moramo nastaviti naš rad kako bismo pomogli muslimanima da se osje?aju sigurno rekli su kanadski lideri.
Prije devet godina izveden je teroristi?ki napad na Islamski kulturni centar u Quebecu, u trenucima kada se najmanje 40 vjernika spremalo za obavljanje no?ne molitve (jacija-namaza). Na licu mjesta poginulo je šest osoba, starosne dobi od 35 do 70 godina. Žrtve napada su Azzeddine Soufiane (57), Khaled Belkacemi (60), Aboubaker Thabti (44), Mamadou Tanou Barry (42), Ibrahima Barry (39) i Abdelkerim Hassane (41).
Iako su iste no?i kao osumnji?eni za napad privedene dvije osobe Muhammed Kadir i Alexandre Bissonnette, nakon kriminalisti?ke obrade za Kadira je ustanovljeno da je bio o?evidac, dok je Bissonnette ostao u pritvoru.
Kanadska vlada usvojila je zakon kojim se 29. januar obilježava kao Nacionalni dan sje?anja na napad na džamiju u Quebecu i akciju protiv islamofobije.
Kanada je prva zemlja u svijetu koja je imenovala predstavnika ili lidera koji ?e nadgledati i savjetovati o pitanjima islamofobije. Ovo je ogroman korak naprijed. To ?e nam pomo?i da se zalažemo za sistemske promjene u Kanadi i globalno i dati nam kapacitet da izrazimo zabrinutost pravim ljudima na pravim mjestima na mikro i makro nivou.
