The Federal government has recently declared January 29 as a National Day of Remembrance (link) for the victims of the January 29, 2017 mosque shooting at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Sainte-Foy, Quebec. Some have raised concerns that this declaration is not enough, and that the national memory of the victims will soon wither away from existence. In a recent post in The Conversation (link), Wilford Laurier University Professor Jasmin Zine outlines how this “unprecedented act of violence has fallen prey to willful forgetting and national amnesia rather than being part of our collective remembrance and commemoration as a nation.”  You can read the full post here (link).

Islamophobia continues to be a concern in Canada and around the world, an issue that is not widely represented in the mainstream public media and debates. In an effort to address this gap and raise awareness, the Cultural Centre recently unveiled the “Islamophobia Is” video series. The videos, which are narrated from prominent figures from the social justice movement, such as Desmond Cole, explore various facets of Islamophobia, such as hate crimes and the myth of the Muslim “terrorist.” You can view the series here (link).