Quebec Mosque Shooting Perpetuates "Trump's America"
On Jan. 29, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighborhood in Quebec, Canada experienced an attack by a masked gunman. Six people in the mosque were killed and about 19 others were wounded. 14 of the wounded individuals received treatment and were released from the hospital, while the other five are currently hospitalized. According to multiple witnesses, the gunman was wearing a ski mask, and upon walking into the mosque, he started firing at “everything that was moving.” The suspect, who was 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonette, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder. Two men were arrested on the night of the shooting, but only Bissonette was identified as the perpetrator. While the police stated that they discovered no possible motives, Canadian government officials immediately came to the conclusion that this was a terrorist attack.
Judging from his surprisingly nonchalant reaction to the shooting, it is not unreasonable to assume that he was more concerned about his own PR than anything else.
After further investigation, it had been discovered that Bissonette had shown support for Donald Trump and the anti-Islamic views on his Facebook page. According to many activists in Quebec, Bissonette had taken nationalist and anti-feminism positions at Laval University where he conducted his studies. The Canadian Prime minister, Justin Trudeau, spoke to over a million Muslim residents in Canada, “Thirty-six million hearts are breaking with yours. Know that we value you.”
You may be wondering exactly what our president was doing during this time. Donald Trump called Prime Minister Trudeau personally to express his sympathy, but he is yet to issue any public statement regarding this event through speech or through social media. It would appear that President Trump was much more infuriated by a knife attack that happened in Paris near the Louvre recently. The attack involved a man shouting “Allahu Akbar” assaulting the security personnel outside the Louvre with a machete. This was described as a “terrorist attack” as well and has succeeded a lot more in capturing President Trump’s attention.
The indisputable truth of the Quebec mosque shooting is that it was a horrific loss of human life that deserves our attention and reflection, especially when we consider it alongside Trump’s recent ban of immigrants from multiple Muslim countries. Donald Trump has always expressed his anti-Islam views, and it would seem that these views have not only influenced the people of the United States but other countries like Canada as well. Ever since Donald Trump has been in the center of the media spotlight during his running for the presidency, he has earned an incredible amount of followers on social media. Bissonette makes a perfect example of someone who was negatively affected by Trump’s anti-Islamic views.
Of course, President Trump is not the only reason for the increase in recent Islamophobic sentiments. In the city of Quebec, hints of anti-Muslim speech existed long before Donald Trump rose to power. The mayor of Quebec described mosques as “a hotbed of radicalization” and heated debate regarding religious freedom and religious accommodations. This was sparked in 2007 when an 11-year-old girl tried to wear her veil during a soccer game in her neighborhood.
What does this say about President Trump? Judging from his surprisingly nonchalant reaction to the shooting, it is not unreasonable to assume that he was more concerned about his own PR than anything else. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place when word first got out about the terrorist attack in the Quebec mosque. Trump would’ve been viewed as demonic and heartless if he stayed completely silent about the event or came to Bissonnette’s defense, a completely plausible scenario, but if he addressed his “condolences” publicly, it would contradict his orders to ban immigration from multiple Islamic countries. In fact, we don’t have to focus on what Trump has done recently to see this connection. He has been expressing anti-Islamic sentiments ever since the world knew him as a businessman and presidential candidate.
I think that Trump is not fully aware of how much influence he has. The people of Quebec have been forming “rings of peace” around their local mosques in solidarity. Organizers of this event claim these rings as “protective barriers” shielding the residents of Canada and encouraging them to continue practicing religion freely without concern and fear for their lives.
My heart trembled reading the stories of the six victims. They were not just Muslims, they were professors, businessmen, fathers, brothers and parents. They were ordinary people who did not deserve the treatment they received.
As much as we strive to combat injustice, it is undeniable that discord, chaos and tragedy exist everywhere. Did Trump go out of his way and seek out the stories of people like the victims of the shooting? Did Bissonette understand the misery that he caused all the victims’ family members? It is heartwarming to see people offering help to the less fortunate, the ones trying to bring justice and balance to the world. However, at the same time, it saddens me to think that it is the existence of calamities like the mosque shooting in Quebec that calls for everyday heroes like these. Perhaps if more people like President Trump were to speak out against the crimes in this chaotic world, we wouldn’t see so many people struggling to combat injustice.