Anniversary of Quebec City Mosque Attack to Be Marked with Vigil

IQNA – On the ninth anniversary of the Jan. 29, 2017, Quebec City mosque attack, a vigil will be held in Montreal Friday to honor the six Muslims killed.

Slated for 4:30 pm local time, the event, being held at the Parc metro station, is part of Muslim Awareness Week, an initiative created in the aftermath of the attack.

Samira Laouni, a co-founder of Muslim Awareness Week, said the annual vigil honors the victims and the injured, while also standing against Islamophobia.

Jawad Kanani, board member of Muslim Awareness Week, said the vigil is taking place at a time when Islamophobia is high in Quebec.

On Jan. 29, 2017, a gunman entered the Islamic Cultural Center in the Sainte-Foy neighborhood of Quebec City during evening prayers and fatally shot six men.

Alexandre Bissonnette was originally sentenced to life in prison without being eligible for parole for 40 years, but on appeal Quebec’s highest court reduced the parole eligibility to 25 years.

Source: globalnews.ca