By Canadian Press

‘Duty to remember:’ Events to mark eighth anniversary of Quebec City mosque attack

Jan 29, 2025 | 1:01 AM

MONTREAL — Only one bullet hole remains in the wall of the Centre culturel islamique de Québec, eight years after a gunman stormed into the mosque and killed six Muslim men who had come to pray.

While a major renovation erased most traces of the attack, the mosque’s president, Mohamed Labidi, says the one hole was left there as a reminder to never forget the Jan. 29, 2017, shooting that claimed the lives of Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzedine Soufiane and Aboubaker Thabti.

But as time passes, he worries that the wider population is no longer heeding the message of remembrance.

“Unfortunately this year, there was not much enthusiasm from our Quebec brothers who did not answer the call of our mosque open house and open door conferences,” he said. Attendance at the events and lectures, which were organized to build bridges between communities in the lead-up to the anniversary, was disappointing, he added.

“It seems like people are starting to forget,” he said.

Economics

Key interest rate in Canada drop by .25 per cent

7h ago

Cold Weather

Frigid, snowy days on the way for Prince George

8h ago

Arbios set to go

11h ago

On Wednesday, more events are planned in Montreal and Quebec City to mark the anniversary. Mayor Valérie Plante will preside over a ceremony and moment of silence at Montreal City Hall, while the events in Quebec City include a discussion on Islamophobia, prayers, and a couscous dinner in memory of the victims.

As well, a vigil is being organized at 4 p.m. Wednesday outside Montreal’s Parc metro station to remember the victims. “Their violent deaths left six widows without their husbands and 17 orphans without their fathers,” Samira Laouni, one of the vigil organizers, said in a news release. “Their stories should never be forgotten. We must always remember.”

On Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelled to Quebec City to meet with the families of the victims. Quebec City’s mayor and Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, attended a public ceremony earlier in the day.

Alexandre Bissonnette pleaded guilty in March 2018 to six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder, and has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years. The gunman admitted to walking into the mosque and opening fire just after evening prayers, killing six people and injuring several others, including a man who was left paralyzed.

Labidi said he believes there has been a “general improvement” in attitudes toward Muslim people since the attack — despite some setbacks — and praised the federal government for its actions to fight Islamophobia, such as appointing Elghawaby.

However, he is more critical of the Quebec government, which said recently it plans to strengthen the province’s secularism laws and end prayer in public places. Premier François Legault said last year that he wanted to send a “very clear message to Islamists” that Quebec will fight against any disrespect of its fundamental values, including secularism.

Labidi said the community is tired of feeling targeted for votes. “At the approach of each election, there are parties who choose slogans to attract the votes of populists,” he said. “But in the long term, it’s not good for our society, and it brings division.”

Labidi says many of the families of the victims are still members of the mosque community, such as the many children the six men left behind. He said the pain of the loss has never faded, adding that all of Quebec has a “duty to remember” the tragedy.

“We have a collective duty not to forget,” he said. “We have to keep it alive so that no minority community has to go through what we went through.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press

<!– Photo: e8d673acf6ef850375213c6b0dee0319250310d68b77d0d860ce5db0eafbb288.jpg, Caption:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alongside Mohamed Labidi, president of the Islamic Cultural Centre, meet with the families of the victims of the Quebec City mosque attack at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City, Saturday, January 25, 2025. On Jan. 29, 2017 a gunman killed six men and injured 19 others at the mosque. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

–>