On Monday evening, the Muslim Society of Guelph marked the one year anniversary of the fatal Quebec City mosque shooting in which six Muslim men lost their lives.
For a second year in a row, the mosque located at the Water Street centre invited the public to attend.
With about 160 in attendance, Imam Mubeen Butt of the Muslim Society of Guelph welcomed local dignitaries to speak at the event.
Those dignitaries represented a number of faith groups, as well as local politicians and the Guelph Police Service.
Butt said the individual who perpetrated the Jan. 29, 2017 attack on the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City was acting on his own, under the influence of the devil.
“This is the teachings of any faith, I would think — that when someone does someone negative — it’s because of their innate nature, inclination and influence of the devil that they commit that crime,” said Butt.
Michael Grand of the Beth Isaiah Synagogue brought condolences from the Jewish community in Guelph.
“It is painful for us to see what happened to the community in Quebec City and we share in those feelings of loss that go right across the country and mourn for the families that have lost loved ones and those who have been injured and who continuously have to struggle with those horrid events of one year ago,” said Grand.
He continued, “and I mourn for the loss of the innocence of this country. Sometimes we deceive ourselves and it’s easy to say Canada is a welcoming place. It is not a welcoming place when these actions take place.”
Every person in society, said Grand, has a responsibility to stand up to intolerance.
“Stand up with our words, stand up with our actions and say this event will never happen again in this country and we will do everything in our power to ensure that it does not repeat itself again. This is my prayer, this is my hope and I wish you all peace in your life,” said Grand.
Deputy chief Paul Martin of the Guelph Police Service noted that in 2017, there were 16 reported hate crimes in the city — which mostly consisted of graffiti.
“In 2018, maybe we can take 16 down to 10, or five or two. And maybe we will have that wonderful day where we go through a whole year and don’t have any. But it takes every single one of us, every day of our lives, to continue to not accept that intolerance,” said Martin.
Monday marked one year after the shooting in Quebec City, noted Martin, but it also marks the anniversary of what happened afterwards.
“There was an incredible outpouring here of every faith, every gender, every ethnic background — which is what Guelph and Canada should be all about,” said Martin.
Rev. Ed Den Haan of First Christian Reformed Church co-founded the Bridging Group in partnership with the mosque located across the street.
Den Haan said the two faith groups have learned tremendously from each other.
“But above all we have learned that evil is not absolute. Only our creator is absolute,” he said.
“Mercy and forgiveness must characterize our souls. That’s the way we bridge. That’s the way we hope,” said Den Haan.
Liberal MPP Liz Sandals, Mike Schreiner of the Green Party of Ontario, Pastor David Tigchelaar of First Christian Reformed Church and Andrew Hyde, Ecumenical Campus Minister at the University of Guelph, and Sara Sayyed, principal of Meezan School of Guelph, also spoke at the event.
Mayor Cam Guthrie and councillor Phil Allt were not able to attend the speaking portion of the event due to a meeting of city council. Their written remarks, as well as remarks by Rev. John Borthwick, were read aloud.
Immediately after the speaking portion of the event, the mosque conducted its nightly prayer service, followed by a candlelight vigil outside.
Read aloud were the names of the six men who were killed — Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Abdelkrim Hassane and Azzedine Soufiane.
Saad Enouri, who worships at the mosque, said it was great to once again welcome the community through their doors to remember those that were lost.
“We appreciate the other faith communities — from the Jewish community and Christian community — to join us here at the Muslim Society of Guelph all together, showing how we cooperate and how we are really connected in Guelph. It’s a great community,” said Enouri.
