January 29th is a day to renew our commitment to action against Islamophobia.
What Happened?
On January 29th, 2017, a 27-year-old terrorist (Alexandre Bissonnette) entered the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City as evening prayers finished with multiple firearms and began shooting.
In just 2 minutes, he murdered 6 men and injured 19 others (5 critically). 35 other people were inside the mosque at the time of the shooting. He fled the scene and then later turned himself in.
Bissonnette plead guilty in March 2018 to 6 counts of first-degree murder and 6 counts of attempted murder. He was originally sentenced in 2019 to life in prison with no chance of parole for 40 years, but this was deemed "too cruel," and it was reduced to 25 years in 2020. Not sure how you determine what is "too cruel" for a racist terrorist, but that's what happened.
Although he was not charged with terrorism-related offences, politicians like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former Premier Philippe Couillard called the act for what it was, right-wing terrorism.
The Victims
Khaled Belkacemi (60)
Husband and father to 3 children
Science professor at Laval University
Azzeddine Soufiane (57)
Bravely rushed towards gunman to disarm him
Owner of a local grocery store
Aboubaker Thabti (44)
Husband and father to 2 children
Pharmacy technician and poultry plant worker
Mamadou Tanou Barry (42)
Husband and father to 2 children
Accounting technician
Abdelkrim Hassane (41)
Father, described as "peaceful and sensitive"
Computer analyst for the Quebec government
Ibrahima Barry (39)
Described as family's role model by younger siblings
IT worker for the Quebec government
Motive
Bissonnette's crimes were fuelled by Islamophobia.
His search history revealed he followed various radical right-wing Americans, including:
David Duke, former leader of the Ku Klux Klan
Richard Spencer, white nationalist
Tucker Carlson, white nationalist
Donald "very fine people on both sides" Trump
and many more
He searched for Trump online over 800 times between Twitter, Google, YouTube, and Facebook before the attack.
Bissonnette reported that he feared that Muslim immigrants would attack him and his family after reading about Donald Trump's travel ban on 7 Muslim-majority countries. He claims that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s message of welcome to refugees was what motivated him to this act of terrorism.
The Green Square Campaign
Every year, the Green Square Campaign takes place in the week leading up to January 29th to remember the victims and survivors of this attack and show your solidarity against Islamophobia.
The green square represents the green carpets of the Quebec City mosque, where the victims last stood to pray. It symbolizes the fact that the deceased are, God willing, in a green garden, in a better place since they left us that night.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) provide several different ways to join the Green Square Campaign:
Wear the green square
Share your story using #GreenSquareCampaign
Get your local monuments, city halls, or landmarks lit green
Organize a vigil or virtual event
Friday Khutba - organize a special jummah prayer at your mosque
Join a letter writing campaign
Defining Islamophobia
The UN defines Islamophobia as:
Islamophobia is a fear, prejudice and hatred of Muslims that leads to provocation, hostility and intolerance by means of threatening, harassment, abuse, incitement and intimidation of Muslims and non-Muslims, both in the online and offline world. Motivated by institutional, ideological, political and religious hostility that transcends into structural and cultural racism, it targets the symbols and markers of being a Muslim.
Islamophobia may manifest in various different ways:
Structural: In the form of harmful policy negatively impacting Muslim communities
Private: Fear, suspicion, and violent targeting of Muslims by private actors (individuals or institutions acting independently of the state)
Islamophobia in Canada
Islamophobia existed prior to 9/11, but this tragedy intensified it for anyone terrorists think "look Muslim." For example, Sikhs often wear turbans and have also unfortunately been targeted in Islamophobic attacks. And this was not exclusive to the United States, nor has it been adequately addressed to bring down levels of hate crimes against Canadian Muslims.
Statistics Canada reveals that the number of police-reported hate crimes targeting Muslim religions in 2021 increased 71% from the previous year.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims reported that from 2016-2021, Canada witnessed the highest number of Muslims killed in targeted, hate-motivated attacks of all the G7 countries.
This is unacceptable. But what has Canada been been doing to address this? Passing a bill that disproportionately hurts Muslim women.
Bill 21
On June 16, 2019, the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) passed a law that bans public-facing employees (ex. Teachers, lawyers, police officers) from wearing religious symbols (including hijabs and turbans). The bill was introduced by Simon Jolin-Barrette, the Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness (?!). This human rights violation targets people who express their faith through what they wear.
A 2022 survey shows that since this new law has been in place, Quebec Muslims feel less accepted, less safe and less hopeful. This survey explored the effects on Muslims, Jews, and Sikhs, but found that Muslim women were feeling the most acute effects.
Premier François Legault continues to defend the bill. He said that minorities should see Quebec as a welcoming place that "decided, for all kind of reasons, that secularism is important." But how can minorities feel welcome when their voices are ignored?
Historic Steps Forward
The fact that so many Canadians still refuse to admit that Canada has a problem prevents us from improving. Why did it take until this past week (January 26, 2023 to be exact) for these headline stories to be implemented?
Although a great step forward, it took too long for the Peel District School Board (PDSB) to take action to keep their Muslim students, who make up around 25% of their student population, feel safe.
Amira Elghawaby will be Canada’s first special representative on combating Islamophobia. According to a release from the Prime Minister’s Office, Elghawaby will provide (much needed) advice to the government to help develop “inclusive policies, legislative proposals, programs, and regulations.” Amira Elghawaby is pictured below.
Fighting Islamophobia
Center the voices of Muslim people
Take the time to learn about how different kinds of Islamophobia and xenophobia can manifest so that you can call them out appropriately
Learn about Islam (+ understand that it is not the same as Islamism)
Encourage and support the implementation of anti-Islamophobia campaigns
Explore how the media perpetuates Islamophobic views
For example, consider your favourite action/war movies
Understand that the fight for bodily autonomy includes both fighting for Muslim women to NOT wear hijab if they don't want to, but also about fighting for Muslim woman to be ABLE to wear hijab if that makes them comfortable
References
American Friends Service Committee. (n.d.). 5 things your congregation can do to stop Islamophobia. Retrieved from https://www.afsc.org/5-things-your-congregation-can-do-to-stop-islamophobia
Canadian Civil Liberties Association. (n.d.). Bill 21. Retrieved from https://ccla.org/major-cases-and-reports/bill-21/
Canadian Press. (2018). Alexandre Bissonnette searched online for Trump more than 800 times before killing six men at mosque. Canada’s National Observer. Retrieved from https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/04/16/news/alexandre-bissonnette-searched-online-trump-more-800-times-killing-six-men-mosque
CBC News. (2018). Ibrahima Barry. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ibrahima-barry-1.4497026
CBC News. (2023). This school board just became the 1st in Canada to adopt a strategy to fight Islamophobia. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-muslim-islamophobia-strategy-school-board-1.6726914
Cecco, L. (2018). Canada mosque shooter says he was motivated by Trudeau welcoming refugees. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/13/canada-mosque-shooter-alexandre-bissonnette-trudeau-trump-refugees-travel-ban
Crawford, B. (2022). 'A tragedy for all Canadians': Marking five years since Quebec City mosque attack. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved from https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/a-tragedy-for-all-canadians-marking-five-years-since-quebec-city-mosque-attack
Elghawaby, A. (2020). Too little has changed since Quebec mosque massacre shattered lives. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/01/27/too-little-has-changed-since-quebec-mosque-massacre-shattered-lives.html
Global News Staff. (2023). Ceremony for Quebec mosque attack to be held in prayer room where shooting occurred. Global News. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/9439155/quebec-city-mosque-attack-commemorations-islamic-cultural-centre/
Montpetit, J. (2019). Quebec City mosque shooting. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec-city-mosque-shooting
National Council of Canadian Muslims. (n.d.). We Remember. Retrieved from https://www.nccm.ca/greensquare/
Nerestant, A. (2022). Quebec City mosque shooter must get chance at parole after 25 years, Supreme Court rules. CBC. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/supreme-court-canada-bissonnette-mosque-shooting-sentence-parole-1.6466847
Page, J. (2018). Quebec City mosque shooting victim hailed as hero for trying to disarm gunman. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/azzeddine-soufiane-tried-to-disarm-alexandre-bissonnette-1.4623996
Rukavina, S. (2022). New research shows Bill 21 having 'devastating' impact on religious minorities in Quebec. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-21-impact-religious-minorities-survey-1.6541241
Senate of Canada. (2022). Anti-Muslim Hate: Senators meet with Muslim communities as attacks rise. Retrieved from https://sencanada.ca/en/sencaplus/news/anti-muslim-hate-senators-meet-with-muslim-communities-as-attacks-rise/
Stober, E. (2023). Canada appoints first-ever special advisor on tackling Islamophobia. Global News. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/9438246/amira-elghawaby-special-representative-islamophobia-canada/
Teotonio, I. (2023). Peel school board takes ‘historic’ step to dismantling Islamophobia. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/01/26/peel-school-board-takes-historic-step-to-dismantling-islamophobia.html
United Nations. (n.d.). International Day to Combat Islamophobia 15 March. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/observances/anti-islamophobia-day
Mahmood, A. (2021). Countering and dismantling Islamophobia: A comprehensive guide for individuals and organizations. The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Retrieved from https://www.ispu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ISPU_RapidResponse-Report-5.pdf?x46312
Zine, J. (2021). Remembering the Québec City mosque attack: Islamophobia and Canada’s national amnesia. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/remembering-the-quebec-city-mosque-attack-islamophobia-and-canadas-national-amnesia-152799
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