Commemoration of the attack at the Grand Mosque of Quebec: the City and Laval University challenged by the organizers

A few days before the commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the attack at the Grand Mosque of Quebec, the organizers are calling on the City of Quebec and Laval University to provide greater support in the future for this important “duty of memory”.

As they make it a point of honor every year, the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec (CCIQ) and the citizen committee January 29, I remember will pay tribute, during the weekend and next Wednesday, to the six men who lost their lives when a shooter burst into the place of worship on Chemin Sainte-Foy on January 29, 2017.

It is “a duty of remembrance towards our six martyrs who fell under the bullets of hatred and ignorance of others. I insist on the ignorance of the other,” affirmed the president of the CCIQ, Mohamed Labidi, believing that the key remains precisely to “fight ignorance”.

Thinking out loud, Mr. Labidi explained that his organization is “in reflection” to transform the event and find “a formula that will be sustainable”.

outstretched hand

He mentioned the search for a large enough premises and the question of security which are recurring challenges, according to him.

“The commemoration is made in the City of Quebec. I have difficulty seeing why the City of Quebec would not be involved and the same thing for Laval University,” he argued, seeing it as a question of “principle” and recalling that one of the victims was a professor at this university. .

“It’s not a criticism. It’s an outstretched hand and we really want to involve in the future, if they want, the City of Quebec and Laval University, as partners in this commemoration,” he said, in suggesting that no formal request has yet been made.

The organizers also raised the issue of financing. According to Nora Loreto, member of the citizens’ committee, the main source of money is a federal grant of $25,000, while the City of Quebec “almost never” provided financial assistance.

“We organize all this on a credit card, and it’s mine,” she says.

“We, for our part, have received nothing and it is we who [dépensons]of our budget. Our budget this year is $7,000 from the CCIQ,” added Mr. Labidi.

“Everything that has been organized over the last eight years has relied on volunteers, particularly volunteers who themselves experienced the attack. It’s an immeasurable burden,” summarized Sophie Marois, another organizer.

Reactions

Asked to react, the City of Quebec said it was “sensitive to the issues raised,” “listening to all communities” and “always open to discussing new avenues of collaboration.” In addition, it has already erected a monument commemorating the tragedy and puts its flags at half-mast every January 29, underlined spokesperson Jean-Pascal Lavoie.

The sound of the bell is similar at Laval University. “It is certain that if there is a request for collaboration addressed to us, we will be completely open to discussing,” said spokesperson Simon La Tacteur.

Still a lot of work

This year’s commemoration will have the theme “Muslims and the media”. The CCIQ will receive a series of speakers on January 25, 26 and 29, including the artist Webster and the journalist Guillaume Lavallée. It will all culminate on Saturday afternoon with a vigil, called “tea for peace”, at the Armory.

According to Mohamed Khabbar, a survivor shot twice during the shooting, the fight for living together is far from over.

“There are still comments that attack Muslims. Before the attack, we suffered a lot of racist and hateful comments which targeted our mosque and caused the attack. [En] 2025, for me, nothing has changed: we are still subject to Islamophobic comments,” he lamented.