Cross Country Checkup·Updated

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?
Mourners applaud during the funeral service for three of the six victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

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?

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 Québec 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