Co-organizer Maryam Bessiri, left, speaks at a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Quebec City as co-organizer Sebastien Bouchard looks on. A commemoration to mark the sixth anniversary of Quebec's mosque shooting will be held for the first time inside the prayer room where the carnage took place. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
QUEBEC – A commemoration to mark the sixth anniversary of Quebec’s mosque shooting will be held for the first time inside the prayer room where six men were killed.
The men were murdered by a lone gunman inside the Quebec City Islamic cultural centre, not long after evening prayers had ended on Jan. 29, 2017.
Maryam Bessiri, a spokesperson for the citizens’ committee organizing the event, says that moving the commemoration to the prayer room is a significant, emotional and difficult decision, but an important one.
This week, the mosque held open houses in an effort to demystify the community to the local population.
Ahmed Cheddadi, a survivor of the mosque shooting, says showing openness must not fall solely on the Muslim community, but on Quebec society as a whole.
Two years ago, the federal government declared Jan. 29 to be the National Day of Remembrance of the Québec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2023.
