Thousands mourn mosque shooting deaths in Quebec

Mass gathering in Montreal to mourn three of the six Muslim men killed at a mosque in Quebec City.

Thousands of people have gathered in Montreal to mourn 
and honour the memory of three of the six Muslim men
 who were killed as they prayed at a mosque in Quebec City 
on Sunday evening.

The families of Khaled Belkacemi, Abdelkrim Hassane
 and Aboubaker Thabti were joined by members of the
 public, Muslim religious leaders, and political figures in Quebec,
during a public funeral service on Thursday afternoon.

Belkacemi, Hassane and Thabti’s caskets were on display
 at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, draped in the
 flags of Tunisia and Algeria, the men’s countries of origin.

Their bodies will be repatriated to their home countries 
for burial.

"We are here together to mourn the loss of Canadians 
who tragically left us last Sunday. They leave behind 
beloved families, friends, colleagues, and a sense of emptiness in this country," said Chayma BenHaj, who
 presided over the funeral.


"Through death, these brave men … united people from
different nationalities, colours, genders and religions. They
united all of Canada. Today, it is with solidarity, compassion,
and love that we cry the loss of these fathers," BenHaj said.

Thabti, Hassane and Belkacemi were killed when a gunman
opened fire in a prayer room at the Islamic Cultural Centre 
in Quebec City on Sunday. In total, six men were killed, and
more than eight others were seriously injured in the attack.

Originally from Tunisia, Thabti, 44, was a pharmacist and
 the father of two young children.

Hassane, 41, was from Algeria, and had three young
daughters. “I lost a husband, a father and a friend,” 
Hassane’s wife, Louiza, told Radio-Canada.

Also from Algeria, Belkacemi, 60, was a professor at the
Université de Laval in Quebec City. “Together, we will
overcome hatred and ignorance. My father will not have
 died in vain,” his son, Amir, posted on Facebook earlier 
this week.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Quebec Premier
Philippe Couillard, and Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume,
were among the many political figures who attended the
funeral.

"Our country was united and showed solidarity with a
community whose pride and strength is unshakeable, 
despite the atrocities that afflicted them so unjustly. 

This afternoon, it is an entire country that is joining the families of the victims," Trudeau said.

"As a community, and as a country, together, we will 
rise  from this darkness stronger, more unified, than ever before.

Because that is who we are."

Funeral services will also be held on Friday in Quebec City for
the other three men killed in the attack: Mamadou Tanou
Barry and Ibrahima Barry, both from Guinea, and Azzedine
Soufiane, who is originally from Morocco.

"We are in mourning," Souleymane Bah, president of the

Guinean Association of Quebec.


Bah said Mamadou Tanou Barry will be buried in Montreal
 on Sunday, while Ibrahima Barry will be repatriated to 
Guinea for burial.

"Ibrahima Barry was very devoted, a leader," Bah said. "
They were very sympathetic people… who were well integrated, who were working, who were calm, and had a sense of faith."

Soufiane, 57, owned a halal grocery store and butcher’s shop,
and he was the father of three children. He had lived in
Quebec City for decades and served as a leader and
confidante for members of the local Muslim community.

“He was a calm and kind person," Rachid Ben-Amor, one of
Soufiane’s close friends, told media  on Thursday.

Ben-Amor said Soufiane enjoyed working as a grocer 
because it kept him in close contact with the community,
 and he helped many newcomers settle into life in Quebec City. "We saw each other almost every day," Ben-Amor said.

Ben-Amor said Soufiane’s family will fly to Morocco on

Saturday to bury him there.