By: Haroon Khan, PCA
We were honoured by the presence of so many joining us at an interfaith gathering for the Remembrance of the 2017 Quebec Mosque Shooting and Day of Action against Islamophobia that took place at BC’s historic First Mosque Al Jamia Masjid Vancouver on Jan 29th, where we held an Interfaith observance and prayers for the martyrs of the Quebec Mosque Attack . The evening was elegantly and professionally moderated by our very own Raza Mirani and began with remarks by Haroon Khan. A multitude of speakers was in attendance including addresses by MLA George Heyman and George Chow, a talk by Constable Shiraaz Hanif who spoke on safety and engagement, and a Very Special Presentation and Reading of the City of Vancouver Proclamation by our dear friend and Deputy Mayor of Vancouver: Sarah Kirby-Yung. Our Muslim Community was represented by engaging speakers beginning with our own Ihsan Malik, of the Pakistan Canada Association. An electric and emphatic speech by Muslim Association of Canada President: Fouad Abassi Kind words by Armaan Kassam of Ismaili Council of BC, Imam Ibrahim Al-Haj, Shaikh Lakhani and Imam Fazil along with spoken word poetry by our Sister who spoke with compassion and bravery. Representatives of our interfaith community including. Our old friend and interfaith ally Rabbi Philip Bregman, Speaking verses of the Quran and Bible: Catholic Bishop Joel Dooley, Fiery passion by teacher and activist, the inimitable Annie Ohana, G. Saini of the Sikh community, and words and wisdom by our friend and compatriot Udo Erasmus. Our Keynote Speaker for the Sunday Anniversary event was the MP for Vancouver-Granville Taleeb Noormohamed who spoke eloquently about the tragic Anniversary, the past, present and future of where we are headed as a community and how we can move forward as a diverse, dynamic and compassionate nation. We concluded with a beautiful prayer service and Dua conducted by Maulana Ahmed Sarfraz, Imam of Al Jamia Masjid Vancouver.
