Five years ago today, on January 29th, 2017, a gunman entered a mosque in Quebec City and opened fire on dozens of Muslims during a prayer service. The shooter, fueled by white supremacist, Islamophobic rhetoric killed six worshippers and injured 19 others.
Today, on National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia, we remember Mamadou Tanou Barry, Azzedine Soufiane, Abdelkrim Hassane, Ibrahima Barry, Aboubaker Thabti, and Khaled Belkacemi as well as the many families, friends, and community members whose lives were forever changed on that horrific day.
In the years since the Quebec Mosque shooting, Islamophobia in Canada has not declined. On the contrary, Statistics Canada has reported a disturbing rise in hate crimes against racial, ethnic or religious groups.
Last June, in London, Ontario, a man used his truck to attack a Muslim family out for an evening walk in their community. This horrific act killed Salman Afzaal, his wife Madiha, their daughter Yumna and Salman’s mother. Earlier this week, Quebec’s Premier Legault reiterated his support for Bill 21, a bill that clearly discriminates against Muslims and fuels islamophobia and, at this exact moment, a convoy of truckers led by men with ties to white supremacist movements, is in Ottawa under the pretense of “freedom”. Clearly, white supremacy and Islamophobia have deep roots in Canada and we, as labour activists and community members, must work together to change this.
From the convoy to Bill 21, we must end Islamophobia and hate.
This is why, under the leadership of our Racial Justice Committee, we hosted a panel discussion last July to discuss Islamophobia and the rise of hate in Canada. This is also why we are pursuing an Anti-White Supremacy Campaign to fight racism in workplaces and communities and implementing an Anti-Racism Organizational Action Plan to fight discrimination in our own union.
Today, we encourage you to support the Green Square campaign and to reflect upon the ways that Islamophobia has threatened the basic freedoms of Muslims everywhere. We ask you to join us in fighting for a world where Muslims can go walk safely in their communities, enter their places of work without discrimination, and pray without fear.
To learn more about the Green Square campaign, click here.
