Sask. hate crime victim reflects on the fifth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque massacre

Two Saskatoon men are reflecting on their hate crime experiences while mourning the Quebec City mosque shooting.

It’s been five years since the Quebec City mosque massacre which killed five people and drew attention to the issue of Islamophobia that Muslims face across the country.

Saskatoon has seen incidents of hates crimes towards Muslims. One of them involving Muhammad Kashif, who was out for his routine walk around 5:30 a.m. on June 25, 2021.

He was attacked and stabbed in the back and arm while also having his beard cut.

"When they cut my beard, that's really hard to me as a Muslim," he said.

For Kashif, the emotional scares were worse than the physical pain he endured. He has lived in Canada for 22 years. The people who attacked him yelled at him to leave the country and called his traditional clothing a "dress."

“‘We don't like what you're wearing. We don't like that, go back to your country.’ That's really painful," said Kashif.

Its incidents like these that the Islamic Association of Saskatchewan wants to draw attention to as the country mourns the fifth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque massacre. A lone gunman shot and killed six worshippers shortly after the end of evening prayers on Jan. 29, 2017.

"Yesterday and today have actually been a time of sort of commemoration, and reflection on that event, and how it's sort of shaped how Muslims feel in this community and other parts of Canada," Daniel Kuhlen, Co-Chair, media communications and outreach committee Islamic Association of Saskatchewan, said.

Kuhlen hopes Canadians take the time to be aware of Islamophobia and the racism some people face that affect their lives and livelihoods.

"We've experienced that here in Saskatoon,” he said. “We're not immune from that and we need to take steps as a community, from a whole society perspective to confront this type of behaviour."

Another incident of Islamophobia in Saskatoon involved Abu Sheikh, who on July 13, 2018 said he was walking home from his mosque in traditional Muslim clothing when a driver tried to run him over.

The driver of the truck came to Sheikh’s home, where he threw bricks at the window.

"We're here, we're not going to be forced to leave,” said Kuhlen. “I think for some Muslims in the community, it's a really unsettling time."

Kuhlen said for Islamophobia to become a thing of the past, everyone has to step up and call out the behaviour when they see it.

"When we see family members or neighbors, or people in our community saying or doing things that are Islamophobic, we have to call it out for what it is, we have to hold them to account," he said.

A belief Kashif holds as well, calling on people to come together and take a stand against Islamophobia.

"When they see the people together,” he said. “I think they will stop doing that."