Azzeddine Soufiane, a 57-year-old grocer; Mamadou Tanou Barry, a 42-year-old cosmetics company technician; 39-year-old Ibrahima Barry, who worked in health insurance, Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; Khaled Belkacemi, 60; and Aboubaker Thabti, 44, a pharmacy worker, were amongst the six men who died when a shooter opened fire at a mosque in Québec City, Canada.
On the night of Jan. 29th, just after 7.50pm, the victim, along with other locals, had attended Sunday evening prayers at their mosque in Quebec City, when a 27-year-old gunman raided and attacked with a barrage of bullets from a pistol and semi-automatic rifle.
Imam Hassan Guillet, who opened the funeral service, began by saying: “Our mosques will remain open, and our children will continue to learn and recite the Qur’an,” the imam told mourners.
“Our children will continue to be honourable citizens in this country, as you were.
“We have chosen this society, and we ask that this society choose us and welcome us.”
Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who has been praised in the past for his inclusive attitude and humanitarian efforts, was amongst the scores of mourners at the procession, along with dignitaries, community leaders, and citizens at the Quebec City convention centre.
Speaking at the funeral he said: “It is with a heavy heart that we come together this afternoon to grieve the loss of these innocent lives.
“Every one of us is responsible for leading the fight against injustice and discrimination in daily life, for acting in a way that represents who we are, that represents Canada that represents the country that Azzedine Soufiane, Mamadou Tanou Barry and Ibrahima Barry loved so much.
“As a community and as a country, together we will rise from this darkness stronger and more unified than ever before — that is who we are.”
The assailant, Alexandre Bissonnette, who is of French-Canadian descent, has been charged with six counts of first degree murder and another nine counts of attempted murder after the shooting.
Described as a far-right sympathiser, against immigration and pro-Donald Trump, the 27-year-old has been hailed by media as a ‘lone wolf.’
Appearing on the front pages globally in casual attire and smiling selfies, he differs somewhat to the traditional “terrorist” portrayal– but he is a terrorist none the less.
All of the victims involved in the attack were said to have immigrated to Canada after fleeing violence in their war-torn countries.
The attack came as a shock to Canada, a fierce defender of multiculturalism. Little more than a year ago, Trudeau himself greeted the first of 40,000 Syrian refugees resettled in Canada with a welcoming smile.
In a response to the heinous hate crime, civilians from the Holy Blossom Temple Synagogue and the Fairlawn United Church gathered to form a ‘Ring of Peace’ outside The Imdadul Islamic Center during Friday prayers, to show solidarity in condemning the deadly shooting and in demonstration of defiance against the persecution of Muslims.
On Wednesday, a member of his Liberal Party apologized in parliament to Canadian Muslims for not having done enough to discourage bigotry.
MP Joel Lightbound expressed: “I ask them for forgiveness for having observed their ostracization and stigmatization in recent years, to have watched take root in the hearts of my fellow men fear, mistrust and hatred… (and) to have not done enough to answer it. If words have consequences, silences also have consequences.”
