THUNDER BAY – Members of a London, Ont. family that died in an attack apparently motivated by anti-Muslim hatred will be honoured with a vigil at 6 p.m. at Waverley Park on Wednesday.
The vigil will provide a space to grieve and acknowledge the tragedy, said Imam Hikmatullah Sherzad of the Thunder Bay Masjid, which is organizing the event.
The act of violence left the local Muslim community in a disturbingly familiar state of mourning, he said, drawing similarities with a deadly 2017 attack on a Quebec Mosque.
“There’s obviously some shock, grieving for the family,” he said. “Memories of what happened in Quebec, that’s probably on a lot of people’s minds.”
On Monday, four members of the London family were killed and one was left with serious injuries after a 20-year-old man, also from London, mounted a curb in his vehicle and struck them.
Police have said that they believe it was a deliberate attack perpetrated because of their Muslim faith, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders described the events as a terrorist attack.
The attack is an extreme expression of racism that’s an undeniable part of being Muslim in Canada, Sherzad said.
“These things fall on a spectrum,” he said. “This is probably at the far end of one spectrum, but people who are Muslim, especially who are visibly Muslim… a lot of memories are coming up of experiences they may have had, words said to them, things like that.”
Premier Doug Ford has lifted COVID-19 restrictions in London Tuesday to allow for vigils to proceed in that community.
Allowing that period of public acknowledgement and mourning is important, said Sherzad.
“There are multiple people [from] outside of the Muslim community reaching out, sharing their condolences with us. That kind of highlights the fact that although [the family] were Muslim, they were also Canadian. As Canadians we all grieve, regardless of who it is, when these things happen.”
More information about Wednesday’s vigil is available via a Facebook event created by the masjid.
