Thread by @HonAhmedHussen

1/ Hatred has consequences!

#January29, 2017 was an ordinary evening for the congregation in Quebec City who went to their local mosque for the evening prayer, never to return to their families after a senseless act of terror.

This was Islamophobia.

2/ Every year on this day, we must remember their names and the families who never saw them return:

Ibrahima Barry
Azzedine Soufiane
Khaled Belkacemi
Aboubaker Thabti
Abdelkrim Hassane
Mamadou Tanou Barry

3/ Cold hands but warm hearts united together.

I think back to four years ago how we saw Canadians come together on the steps of Parliament Hill to mourn together.

4/ I remember going to Quebec City for the Janaza (Funeral) & visiting the Saint-Foy mosque and meeting these families.

Blood on the carpet.
Bullets in the walls.
Families shattered.

5/ Every time I attend prayers at a mosque, I am reminded how places of worship are meant to be a place of peace & tranquility.

6/ After #Jan29, I and many others had this fear of what could happen when our backs are turned to prayer. This is a shared reality of so many people who don't feel safe when they are targeted.

7/ Four years later, many of us still live with this fear. What happened in Quebec wasn't a one-off incident.

8/ In November last year, a terrible attack took place close to home at the IMO Mosque in Toronto that I visit regularly.

Mohamed-Aslim Zafis was killed by an alleged neo-Nazi. globalnews.ca/news/7351511/m…

9/ I share this as a reminder to myself & others, to continue our efforts, now more than ever, to combat hate and to not be scared to name it.

10/ When we don’t name it, we show that we are not ready to face it. We show that we are not comfortable talking about it or acting to confront it.

Islamophobia - it has a cost.

11/ Going forward, January 29th will be the “National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia”.

It is important to ensure our children & Canadians never forget this tragic day.

12/ Our strength as a country is when we stand up for each other. 🙏🏽🇨🇦

Let us never forget how Canadians came together & that we continue to fight all forms of discrimination, including Islamophobia & racism with this same resolve.