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Love, grief and anger at local online vigil for family killed in London

Many are wondering if systemic and violent Islamaphobia will ever change in Canada
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A vigil was held locally to honour the family killed in a hateful attack in London Tuesday night.

The three-hour virtual event was an outpouring of support and love, both from the community toward those who are Muslim, and from the Coalition of Muslim Women KW to anyone who is grieving.

An unfortunate incident also happened during the meeting when so-called 'Zoom bombers' interrupted the proceedings with racist and homophobic language. Police are investigating.

Coalition executive director Fauzia Mazhar guided the virtual meeting, reiterating the sentiment that love will ultimately conquer.

Love, understandably, came coupled with grief and anger. Many people of colour and Muslims feel that they have seen this story before in Canada.

Local politicians offered their genuine condolences and shared grief. While that was accepted and appreciated, many want to see action, not just words.

"I know this is not the first hate crime against Muslims in Canada, it has been happening, and I've attended different vigils," said Sadaf Shan, one of almost 700 attendees. "For me, thank you everybody for the great speeches, it was great. But if I speak my heart, it didn't make me feel any better. It's hard for me to trust that what people are saying, they're actually going to do that."

"Many are saying that this is senseless, but what happened is not senseless. It makes complete sense," said Sarah Shafiq, director of programming and services at the Coalition of Muslim Women KW. "I don't entirely blame the 20-year-old who was brainwashed, but those who washed his brain. It's not entirely the right wing, they are just fanning the flames. It's the mainstream institutions, unfortunately."

"Since this incident happened, my parents have been calling me every couple of hours," said Zohra Wali. "My dad, who taught me how to speak, who taught me how to stand tall and be brave, and speak my mind, told me this morning, he begged me to take my hijab off. He said, 'Can you please not be visible? Can I please protect you from this far away?' I said, 'Baba, please don't say that. I will feel naked, I will lose my identity.' And we couldn't speak after that."

"I grew up in a society where we had the aftermath of the violent Afghan War in Pakistan, the spillover was absolutely horrific," said Kashif Memon. "So, I came to a G7, a developed country, the leader in human rights. And after every incident of violence against any group, whether it's Islamaphobia or anything, my son who was born here keeps asking me the question: 'Why did you have to come to Canada if there's killing here also? Where are we going to be safe?'"

The meeting was briefly interrupted by 'Zoom bombers.' Several individuals began to scream racist, homophobic rhetoric into their microphones, and sent hateful messages in the chat box. Organizers kept their composure and quickly dealt with the intruders. Regional Police were also still on the call. According to Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo, they are now investigating the incident.

"The fact that people thought that they could come into this space and invade a safe space just speaks to the level of entitlement and privilege that a few folks within the community and this country, what they feel," said Faduma Musse of the Somali Canadian Association of Waterloo Region. "How... how... how actually entitled do you feel, that in a place where people are mourning, you can still attack them and re-traumatize them?"

Musse also voiced her exhaustion with hearing words from officials when systemic hate is allowed to fester. Musse pointed to the fact that the perpetrator of the horrific attack in London was just 20 years old.

"We need to start embedding these things in places such as the education system," she said. "We need to start creating spaces for us to discuss, to question, and to talk about why these things are happening. And not just with adults, with children." 

She said that education isn't just up to teachers, it must start in the home.

The Coalition of Muslim Women KW is creating spaces of their own for hard discussions, as well as reporting hate. If you've witnessed or experienced hate, you're asked to go to Reportinghate.ca. The coalition has also organized six town hall with WRPS and the Muslim  community. The first is July 13. Another initiative is called "Brave Circles," where people from outside the faith will be able to ask Muslims tough questions to understand the community better.

The coalition is joining the National Council of Canadian Muslims in calling for an urgent national summit, involving all levels of government, to immediately address violent and systemic Islamaphobia.