By Balwant Sanghera
On a Sunday evening,a 27 year old university student known for far right sympathies, walks into a Quebec mosque and brutally massacres six innocent people and injures several more seriously. This despicable crime takes place in a tranquil city that had only one homicide in 2016. The suspect, AlexandreBissonette, a sociology student at Laval University, is charged with six counts of first degree murder and five charges of attempted murder at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec in the historic city of Quebec. This horrific tragedy, on January 29, has shaken Canadians from coast to coast to coast. This act of terrorism has caused pain to every law abiding and peace loving Canadian. In particular, it has put fear andanxiety in the minds and hearts of our Muslimbrothers and sisters throughout Canada. This tragic event has been soundly condemned. Since this tragedyoccurred, there have been vigils and expressions of sympathy and support for the Muslim community all across the land.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with other party leaders, was quick in condemning this act of terrorism. On behalf of every Canadian, Trudeau summed it up very well in these words: “….Muslim Canadians are valued members of every community. Wherever they live and work they deserve to feel welcomed and safe. They are home here. .. Canadians will meet fear and hatred with love and compassion.” Addressing the Muslim community Justin said: “You are important to us…You are at home.”
Locally, more than 200 concerned men, women and children gathered at the Blundell Mosque at Blundell Road and #5 Road in Richmond on Monday (January30) evening. The organizers had appealed to the broader community to join them in paying tribute to the victims of this heinous crime. The vigil attracted a large number of people representing the diversity of this community. The attendees included Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, Councillor Chak Au and a number of other community leaders. This writer also had the privilege of being invited to address the gathering and offer support to the Muslim community.
Everyspeaker offered his/her condolences to the Muslim community and assured it of their unconditional support in this hour of need. Each one of them emphasized that Canada is a very compassionate, open, welcoming and inclusive country and that Richmond is a very culturally diverse and harmonious community. Our Highway to Heaven (along a small stretch of #5 Road with more than20 places of worship of different denominations) reflects the uniqueness of not only of Richmond but also of all of Canada. In this context, it is hard to comprehend as to why an individual with a twisted mind would resort to such a heinous act of violence on innocent citizens praying at their place of worship. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t be disheartened by this tragedy but move on. Each one of us must continue to fight against the forces of prejudice,racism,hatred and violence. AS our prime minister has put it so well, we should continue to meet fear and hatred with love and compassion.
Balwant Sanghera is the President, Richmond Multicultural Community Services.
