Five years later: Vigils honour victims of Quebec mosque shooting

People across Quebec gathered Saturday to honour the victims of the 2017 mosque shooting in Quebec City, when six Muslim worshippers were killed and five were seriously injured by a lone gunman.

In Quebec City, a vigil took place before the Islamic Cultural Centre, with survivors and their families in attendance as well as Premier Francois Legault.

“We commemorate the fifth anniversary of a terrible killing [and fulfill] our duty of remembrance to our brothers who fell under the bullets of hatred,” said Aymen Derbali, a survivor of the shooting, who was hit by several bullets and now uses a wheelchair.

Those killed in the Jan. 29 attack were Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Abdelkrim Hassane and Azzedine Soufiane, who had 17 children between them.

Survivor Mohamed Hafid spoke as well, reminding the crowd that “unfortunately, racism and Islamophobia still exist in our society” and that violence must be denounced “in all its forms.”

In his speech, Premier Francois Legault said that “Quebec has not forgotten and never will forget.”

Quebec City's mayor was also in attendance.

Bruno Marchand stated that "difference does not harm us, it enriches us. We are all different in the eyes of someone else [...] in the game of difference, we all lose."

MONTREAL

A vigil also took place at Montreal’s Parc station around 5 p.m., with a row of people bearing signs and candles standing before the pillars marking the building’s entrance.

One of the event organizers, Ehab Lotayet, said more needs be done to make conditions safer for Muslims.

“We have a problem with the way Muslims are perceived,” he said. “It is a problem that the Muslim community is trying to work on, and it takes it seriously. But also, it needs the cooperation of society at large and the government, the people in power.”

Some say Bill 21 isn’t helping the cause.

Enacted in 2019, the bill prohibits civil service workers from wearing religious symbols, include hijabs and other clothing items common within the Muslim faith.

“If anything, Bill 21 is the exact opposite of what we should be doing to make sure we restore our feeling of safety as Muslims of Quebec,” said stated Sarah Abou-Bakr of the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

“A feeling that we’ve lost ever since the Quebec City mosque shooting and even from before."

With files from CTV’s Matt Grillo and The Canadian Press.