Muslim community commemorates 9th anniversary of Quebec City Mosque shooting

 

Anti-hate advocates say there’s still work to be done to combat Islamophobia in the province

For many Muslims in Newfoundland and Labrador, Islamophobia became starkly real on Jan. 29, 2017, when a gunman opened fire at a mosque in Quebec City.

Ayse Sule Akinturk, an executive member of the Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (MANAL), says that for many members of the Muslim community in this province, violent cases of Islamophobia were unimaginable prior to 2017.

“We woke up to this brutal reality, that Islamophobia is real,” she says. “It exists, and it can take very violent forms — can take innocent lives. So we were really shaken to the core.”

Akinturk vividly remembers hearing the devastating news that a gunman opened fire at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec during Isha (night) prayers, killing six Canadians and wounding 19 others. She says when members of the local met right after the news, everyone was “terrified and shaking.”

Sobia Shakih, co-chair of the Anti-Racism Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador, says the aftermath of the attack was emotionally exhausting. “I was scared. I was scared for my family across the country. I was afraid for Muslims here in St John’s. I was really fearful,” she says.  (more...)

Muslim community commemorates 9th anniversary of Quebec City Mosque shooting