Three years on the terrorist shooting that left six Muslim worshippers dead, the city of Quebec unveiled Tuesday, December 1, a memorial for the mosque victims, serving as a symbol to human resilience and unity.
“I’m remembering my brothers all the time,” said Ayman Derbali, a father of three who survived the attack on Jan. 26. 2017, CBC reported.
“I have not yet healed,” said Boufeldja Benabdallah, a co-founder of the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre.
📚 Read Also: This Is How Canadian Muslims Plan to Mark Quebec Shooting Anniversary
“This tragedy has left a permanent scar on the hearts of many of our fellow citizens,” said Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume.
Almost four years ago, a Canadian gunman opened fire at a Quebec City mosque on the evening of January 29, 2017.
Alexandre Bissonnette, the man responsible for the Quebec City mosque shooting, received a life in prison sentence with no chance of parole for 40 years.
The memorial honoring the mosque attack victims lies outside the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre.
The six victims are Ibrahima Barry, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Azzedine Soufane, and Aboubaker Thabti.
Touching
The memorial was designed by Luce Pelletier and built using $440,000 raised from the municipal, Quebec, and Canadian governments.
Derbali, a hero who put himself into fire to spare the life of others, said he felt touched by the memorial.
“It’s like a bridge between the church and the mosque, between Christians and Muslims. All the citizens of Quebec City and Canadians in general,” he said.
“It’s very significant.”
In January 2020, Afghan Canadian director Ariel Nasr released The Mosque: A Community’s Struggle, a documentary on those affected by the tragic terrorist attack on Quebec mosque.