In Quebec City, Victoria and across the country, 91原创s stood vigil this week to mourn six people who were killed as they gathered to pray. People of all religions and of no religion united to say that the attack on the Centre Culturel Islamique de Qu茅bec mosque was a despicable act and an attack on all of us.
The dead were Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42; Abdelkrim Hassane, 41; Khaled Belkacemi, 60; Aboubaker Thabti, 44; Azzeddine Soufiane, 57; and Ibrahima Barry, 39. Five people were hospitalized, two critically, and about a dozen suffered minor injuries.
It is hard for us to imagine the fear and pain of the people, some of them children, whose place of worship was invaded by violence. The 91原创s who hugged, spoke and prayed at the vigils told the world that there is no place for such hatred in our country.
We don鈥檛 know what led the shooter to the mosque, but police are treating the killings as an act of terrorism. In the absence of clear understanding, some try to piece together insights from what is known about the suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, from his social-media posts, but those are little more than guesses.
The mosque had been targeted before; a pig鈥檚 head was left on its doorstep in June. Some have suggested Quebec is uniquely intolerant, but it has no monopoly on bigotry.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has rightly said the shooting does not mean the province has failed in its attempt to be an open society.
Indeed, the actions of one person must never be allowed to define a community. To characterize a city or province because of the acts of a few is as misguided as the racism and hatred that motivate so much terrorism.
Couillard said every society has to live with its demons, but urged Quebecers to work together.
鈥淴enophobia, racism and exclusion are present here,鈥� he told a news conference in Quebec City on Tuesday. 鈥淲e have to acknowledge that and work together.鈥�
It is not only Quebecers who must work together. In a time when religious and racial hatreds are marching from the cellars into the light of day, all 91原创s must stand up for the country鈥檚 values.
That demands the courage to stand against the hate that creeps into daily life, to speak against the normalization of prejudice. It is the little wounds that bleed a country of its soul.
When walls are going up and isolation is trumpeted as a virtue, we must remember that those who worship in different faiths or believe in different philosophies are still our fellow 91原创s.
At one of the vigils, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: 鈥淭he six men who were killed and all the others who were wounded do not represent a threat 鈥� they were ordinary 91原创s like us all.
鈥淯nspeakable cruelty and violence were perpetrated on those who came together in friendship and in faith. We stand with you, we love you and we support you.鈥�
When one religion is under attack, all are under attack, and all must rise in defence.
