Vancouver mosque hosts Quebec shooting vigil
Posted January 30, 2017 1:26 pm.
Last Updated January 30, 2017 2:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A Vancouver Mosque is hosting a vigil Monday evening for the victims of Sunday night’s deadly shooting in Quebec City.
The Al Jamia Masjid at 655 West 8th Avenue will open its doors to the public for the vigil around 5:30 p.m. following evening prayers.
Colourful flowers with messages of support already lean against the shoe racks outside the mosque.
Trustee Haroon Khan says a handful of people gathered at the mosque last night, once the news broke about the shooting.
“We’re very angry, very upset. How could anybody do something so terrible, to come into a place of worship and gun people down while they’re in prayer?” Khan says.
“You want to hit something, you want to express some outrage but in the end what can you do? You pray. You come back to the mosque and you pray.”
Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer are expected to attend, Khan says.
The BC Muslim Association is celebrating their 50th anniversary and an interfaith forum will take place on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at the Columbia Bible College at 2940 Clearbrook Road in light of the shooting.
Khan praised Vancouver’s multicultural atmosphere and ability for the various faiths to come together in times of tragedy.
“When there are problems, we will hold interfaith meetings to discuss these matters and create some kind of movement towards getting together as human beings,” he says.
On Saturday there is also a national world Islamophobia awareness day, and Khan says they will host another event at 5:30 p.m.
“If you slay a person, it’s as if you’ve slain all of humanity, but if you save somebody, it’s as if you’ve saved all of humanity,” Khan says. “This is what we hope for. Let’s save each other.”
