How do you recover from the fear and hate created by the Quebec mosque attack?
Muslims and all Canadians are still coming to terms with the mosque attack. Acts of terror aim to strike fear into target communities, and the Quebec shooting did just that. How do you recover from the fear and hate that such shootings create?
More from this episode:
- A year after being firebombed, Peterborough Muslim community offers advice to Quebec City
- How should schools respond to tragic events in the news?
- 'We were both so moved': A self-described atheist on her experience visiting a mosque
- 'A shock, but no surprise' : A Muslim man grapples with Quebec mosque shooting
They re-opened for prayers at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Québec in Sainte-Foy yesterday -- six days after a deadly shooting spilled blood on the walls and carpets.
Six men died: Khaled Belkacemi, 60-years-old, Azzedine Soufiane, 57, Aboubaker Thabti, 44, Karim Hassan, 41, Mamadou Barry, 42, and Ibrahima Barry, 39.
They were fathers, husbands, sons, gathered at the mosque last Sunday for evening prayers, when a lone gunman entered and methodically began shooting.
Canadians, especially Muslims, are still coming to terms with the mosque attack in Qu ébec City. How do you make sense of a bloody assault on innocent worshippers?
We don't know what motivated the suspected shooter, 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonette. though it looks like he embraced extreme-right political views. The prime minister called it an "act of terrorism." Whether defined as a terrorist act or as a hate crime, the attack has left many Muslims scared and fearful. And in short, terrorized.
Across the country, Canadians responded with messages of hope, sympathy and support... from vigils, pulpits, and political podiums. But how do we reach across divides, racial or religious, to create lasting change moving forward?
In Quebec, where identity politics are often tense sometimes violent, the attack has been a wake-up call. The premier said it's time to tone down the rhetoric... time to "eradicate hatred, prejudice and racism." What do you think... in a climate of intolerance and racism, how do you change the conversation and foster dialogue?
Our question: How do you recover from the fear and hate created by the Quebec mosque attack?
Guests
Sameer Zuberi
Organizer of Montreal vigil for victims of Quebec mosque shooting
Twitter: @SameerZuberi
Amira Elghawaby
Communications Director National Council of Canadian Muslims
Twitter: @AmiraElghawaby
Imam Syed Soharwardy
Founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada and Muslims Against Terrorism based in Calgary.
Author of Defeating Hate
Twitter: @syedsoharwardy
Barbara Perry
Professor in Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Author of many books including In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crimes and Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader
What we're reading
CBC.ca
- Full coverage of the Quebec City Mosque Attack
- 10 minutes of terror: What happened in the Quebec City mosque Sunday night
- Quebec City's close-knit Muslim community reeling as mosque victims remembered
- Why accused in Quebec City mosque shooting isn't likely to face terrorism charges
- How Muslim Canadians are coping after Quebec City attack
- These Canadian acts of kindness after mosque attack may restore your faith in humanity
- Mosque vandalized in Montreal's Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood
- Inside Quebec's far right: Where do Quebec's extremist groups fit in?
- How to make a tragedy fit your desired narrative: Robyn Urback
- Intolerance, xenophobia have permeated political rhetoric in Quebec
- Quebec's ugly ethnic nationalism
Globe and Mail
- The Quebec City mosque attack: What we know so far
- Second funeral for mosque victims to be held in Quebec City today
National Post
Maclean's Magazine
Montreal Gazette
- Quebec mosque shooting: What happened to Alexandre Bissonnette?
- Opinion: Quebec mosque shooting shows need for dialogue, not rhetoric