‘We are horrified’: Religious leaders react to Quebec City mosque attack

By Jackie Dunham
CTV News| January 30, 2017

Security is being heightened at mosques and prayer centres across the country, Muslim leaders say, in the wake of a mass shooting at a Quebec City mosque that left six people dead and injured five others on Sunday evening.

Quebec provincial police said two men have been arrested after predominantly male worshippers were shot at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec (Islamic cultural centre of Quebec) in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood in what officials are calling a “terrorist attack.”

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The executive director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, Ihsaan Gardee, called on Canadian law enforcement agencies to increase security around mosques and Islamic centres.

“We are horrified by this despicable act of violence, » Gardee said in a statement released Monday morning. “This act of wanton murder must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

Patrick Lalonde, the assistant director of the Service de Police de la ville de Montreal, says security has been increased around mosques in the area. « We have asked for all our police officers to increase the levels of vigilance and surveillance around mosques and other community services, » he said at a news conference Monday morning.

Gardee added that he was “heartened” by the overwhelming support for the Muslim community from fellow Canadians.

“We must unite together against divisive forces that seek to harm our communities, » Gardee said.

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