The victims of the Quebec mosque shooting are remembered in Quebec City on January 29, 2019.

10
Feb

2019

Two Years and a Verdict Later: What Next for Muslims in Canada After the Quebec Mosque Shooting?

Written by Chelby Daigle

Published in News

On February 8th, Alexandre Bissonnette was sentenced to 40 years in prison before being eligible for parole for the murder of Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Abdelkrim Hassane, and Azzedine Soufiane, and the attempted murder of 35 other worshippers, in the attack at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec (CCIQ) on January 29, 2017.

As he handed down the sentence, Justice Huot reiterated the devastating impact of Bissonnette’s hateful actions on the survivors, the families of the victims and the mosque community in Quebec City, stating that January 29 will be a day 'written in blood' in the history of Canada and Quebec.

Justice Huot recognized the attack as a hate crime, saying it was caused by a 'visceral hatred for immigrants who are Muslim' and 'tore at the fabric of society.'"

According to the Globe and Mail, "Justice Francois Huot rejected the Crown’s call to sentence Bissonnette to 150 years with no chance of parole, arguing a sentence of 50 years or more would constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Sentences that exceed an offender’s life expectancy and offer no reasonable hope of release are “grossly disproportionate and totally incompatible with human dignity,” he wrote in his 246-page decision."

The survivors of the Quebec mosque attack and the families of those who were murdered were generally disappointed with the sentencing. “I was very disappointed and surprised,” said Aymen Derbali in an interview with the Montreal Gazette, "We wanted justice to be done, for the victims for all those who are dead,” Derbali said, noting based on what the judge decided, Bissonnette will be eligible for parole at age 67, “Why did he (the judge) pick 40 years? Why didn’t he pick 50 years or two 25-year sentences? We were very upset after this sentence.”

There is also concern that the sentence will impact the activities of far-right hate groups in the country. In a post-sentencing CBC interview, Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, explains "if you think back to when the murders occurred, within the first few days after the murders there was an uptick in anti-Muslim violence in response. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see a bit of an uptick here as well. As the first one was taken as a call to arms, I think that the sentencing decision will also be taken as a similar call to arms and, you know, an opportunity to unite around Islamophobia which really the right has been doing quite consistently for the past couple of years.That really has become the lightning rod for them."

In an article for The Conversation Canada, Professor Jasmine Zine explains that "Statistics Canada found hate crimes against Muslims in Canada grew 253 per cent from 2012 to 2015. It got even worse: police-reported general hate crimes shot up by 50 per cent in 2017 reaching a new all-time high. These numbers are largely driven by incidents targeting Muslim, Jewish and Black people with the increases being driven mainly by events in Ontario and Québec. Muslims have been constructed as the “enemies within” and represent the new folk devils that threaten the stability of the nation."

The opportunity for the Federal government to designate January 29 as a National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec Mosque shooting has once again past Justin Trudeau's Liberals by. This despite the fact that this was the recommendation of the House of Commons Heritage committee back in 2018.

There were differences of opinion within the Muslim community about what this proposed day should be called. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) called for a "National Day of Action against Hate and Intolerance" whereas the "I Remember January 29" campaign, managed by the Canadian Muslim Forum (FMC-CMF) and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), both based in Montreal, Quebec, called for a "National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia and other forms of religious discrimination". But this difference doesn't seem like a good enough reason to prevent the Federal government from making the designation. However, based on a survey by the Calgary-based think tank, Think for Actions, many Canadians reject such a designation so perhaps this explains the Liberals' reluctance. But as anti-Muslim sentiment and hate incidents are already rising this election year, this lack of concrete action by the federal government is not a good sign of what may be to come for our communities.

Despite the lack of action at the federal level, cities such as Toronto and Hamilton have already made this designation and commemorative events for January 29th took place at the municipal level in cities across Canada this year including Calgary, Winnipeg, London, Kitchener, Ottawa, Gatineau, and of course Quebec City.

Often we focus on politicians to lead the way in these circumstances, but perhaps we should look to other sectors of society.

This year also saw the launch of the Push Back the Darkness initiative by Ryan Slobojan and his daughter Elisabeth from Pickering, Ontario. Ryan helped to support vigils to commemorate January 29th in Pickering, Whitby, Brampton, Mississauga, Calgary, and in Ottawa. Ryan and Elisabeth came to Ottawa for the vigil on Parliament Hill where they supplied LED candles to attendees with a message of hope. The week before they visited Quebec City and Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec where the shooting took place.

Muslim Link reconnected with the team behind 2 Puits (Two Wells), who are close to finally building a well to increase access to clean water in the Guinean village of Quebec mosque shooting victim Mamadou Tanou Barry. The small team has been working for almost two years now in collaboration with Mamadou's family to bring his dream to fruition. They hope to raise additional funds in order to build a well in the village of Ibrahima Barry, another victim of the Quebec mosque shooting, whose Guinean village also is in need of increased access to clean water.

Shazlin Rahman and Rudayna Bahubeshi, who work with the national not-for-profit Inspirit Foundation, believe the philanthropic sector could step up to offer leadership to address the rise of Islamophobia across Canada. In their recent article for The Philanthropist, they explained "As an organization with roots in Vision TV, Canada’s first multifaith television network, Inspirit Foundation began by funding projects that promote interfaith understanding and pluralism. Through those early funding programs and internal research, we identified Islamophobia as a significant barrier to inclusion in Canada. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, we increased our focus on Islamophobia and funded research to understand the experiences of young Muslims in Canada. Addressing Islamophobia became one of two priority areas in our 2016–2021 strategic plan, alongside advancing reconciliation. While Inspirit Foundation is one of the only non-Muslim foundations in Canada focused on addressing Islamophobia, many organizations are tackling issues connected to racism and Islamophobia. There is a growing sense of urgency among foundations to address Islamophobia. Lacking across the sector, however, is the experience, including lived experience, necessary to inform anti-Islamophobia and anti-racist strategies that could help create systemic change."

They encourage non-profits to think about how their work connects to the reality of Islamophobia by explaining that "Islamophobia affects mental and physical health, education and employment opportunities, civic participation, housing equity, and more. For example, if your foundation works to improve access to employment, consider how Islamophobia can affect hiring practices and work opportunities for Muslims. There are myriad ways Muslims can be discriminated against in places of work, from the over-policing of women’s dress to lack of prayer spaces, or xenophobic attitudes."

One of the groups that obtained a small grant from Inspirit Foundation is Femmes Noires Musulmanes au Québec. Despite the glaringly obvious reality that two Black Muslims, Mamadou Tanou Barry and Ibrahima Barry, were also murdered during the Quebec Mosque Attack, one seldom sees members of Quebec's significant Black Muslim communities engaged in Muslim organizations addressing Islamophobia or even interviewed by journalists in Quebec about their experiences. Unfortunately, this has to do with both the issue of anti-Black racism within Quebec society and within Muslim communities in the province. Burundian Canadian academic Delice Mugabo has coined the term "Anti-Black Islamophobia" to provide a framework for the intersecting experiences of anti-Blackness in both mainstream and Muslim communities and discrimination within mainstream society for being BOTH Black and Muslim that Black Muslims in Canada face. Her work is an inspiration for Femmes Noires Musulmanes au Québec, who regularly create space for Black Muslim women from a diversity of backgrounds and countries/cultures of origin (Tunisia, Somali, Djibouti, Senegal, the United States, Haiti, etc) to come together, share stories of resilience, and build bridges with each other and non-Muslim Black women in Quebec.

Another project that has received funding from the Inspirit Foundation is The Rivers of Hope Project which focuses on addressing "Gendered Islamophobia", the particular form of Islamophobia experienced by Muslim women in Canada. In an article for TVO, Rivers of Hope Project co-founder Sidrah Ahmed explained that, "in my own life, I have been the target of violence because I’m Muslim and identify as female. Harmful stereotypes about Muslim women — that we are weak, oppressed, exotic, subhuman — can sometimes lead perpetrators to believe that we are easy targets for abuse."

She conducted research into other Muslim women's experiences of Gendered Islamophobia and found that "[t]he range of Islamophobic violence reported by these women was staggering: they told me about attempted murder, physical assault, sexual assault, and verbal threats and harassment. One participant disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted by a man while he used Islamophobic slurs; another told me that someone had tried to run her over with his truck; still another told me about having been physically and sexually abused by an Islamophobic boyfriend. Almost half of the women who came forward were Black Muslims. One told me that a man had tried to punch her in broad daylight in downtown Toronto; another told me that she is verbally harassed so often that it feels “chronic.” The five women who wore a niqab also reported very frequent threats and harassment, including being spit at by strangers. Such incidents can tarnish our experience of the communities we live in and rob us of the feeling that we are home, that we are safe, that we are valued." Based on her research Sidrah "co-developed the Rivers of Hope Toolkit in partnership with Azza Abbaro, a Muslim woman graphic artist. Designed for Muslim women survivors of Islamophobic violence, it contains real-life stories, support resources, reporting options, poetry, and self-care suggestions."

Initiatives like Push Back the Darkness and 2 Puits, and the work of groups like Femmes Noires Musulmanes au Québec and Rivers of Hope, that will hopefully continue to receive financial support from non-profits like Inspirit Foundation, offer hope that we will survive what has already started out as a year of rising hate in the country, by looking beyond politicians and instead to one another for support.

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