THUNDER BAY – It's been under tragic circumstances that Hikmatullah Sherzad had come to recognize many of the faces of people gathered in his mosque on Friday night.
Following the killing of 50 Muslims in their houses of prayer in New Zealand that has shocked the world, dozens of people joined the local Muslim community to fill the Thunder Bay Masjid to pray for the victims.
Whether it was a vigil to support the victims of the 2017 Quebec City mosque shootings that claimed six lives or another one after the Pittsburgh synagogue attack last October that killed 11 people, Sherzad emphasized the importance of community togetherness and unity in the aftermath of tragedy.
"Some of you were in this parking lot just over two years ago for a very, very similar incident. Some of you might have went to the synagogue three or four months ago for a very, very similar incident," said Sherzad, the imam of the local mosque.
"It's unfortunate these continue to happen. It's a community like this that needs to get the spotlight after events like this. This is what needs to happen and continue to happen."
The shootings in the two Christchurch mosques killed 50 people, with another 48 wounded. New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has described the attack, which was allegedly carried out by a 28-year-old Australian white nationalist, as an act of terrorism.
A live stream of video of the incident was shared on social media, along with a manifesto allegedly produced by the suspect.
"It's time, that beyond the words of love and community, to understand that hate does exist. These people do exist in our communities and the way around it is to increase understanding and increase awareness in any way, shape or form," Sherzad said.
"We ask God to heal all of our hearts and the families of those who have passed away to give them patience, and to those who are still alive to heal them and allow them to reunite with their families."
Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu attended the vigil and urged everyone to speak out against hate.
"All of us as leaders, and each of us are leaders in this community one way or another, have a responsibility to call it out and have a responsibility to have a zero tolerance for that," Hajdu said. "I call on all of us to do that vigorously because I do believe the words here that we are all one."
"We need to stand together. When one of us is attacked, all of us are attacked."
Thunder Bay mayor Bill Mauro said while it can be difficult to change people's attitudes, it's the people in the room that can begin to create change as communities and individuals.
"It can be very difficult in situations like this to try to adequately find the words to express how you feel and express and pay homage to what the community must be going through and the pain you must be feeling," Mauro said. "Unfortunately, we seem to be living in an era and a time when attacks like this on multiple communities are happening with increased frequency."
