Monday, June 7, 2021
The Canadian Council of Muslim Theologians (CCMT) joins the Canadian Muslim community in grieving the loss of four members of its Muslim family in the London, Ontario terrorist attack. This horrific attack was carried out against three generations of the Afzaal family simply due to their Islamic faith and follows a line of aggressive acts against Muslims in Canada including the tragic Quebec city mosque shootings in 2017.
As Muslims, we place our trust in Allah and recognize the importance of prayer in these trying times. We ask Allah to give Salman, Madiha, Yumna and Yumna’s grandmother the highest of ranks in paradise. We pray that He grants Fayez complete recovery, makes this difficult time easy on him and the entire family, and that He keeps us all in His protection.
As Canadians, we are grateful for the solidarity Canadians from all walks of life have displayed with the Muslim community. However, we must take this moment to remind our members of parliament, especially the honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that this act is not an isolated incident rather part of a broader pattern. The Muslim community has been facing an increasing amount of Islamophobia, hate speech and violent aggression for years. We demand that more should be done to ensure the safety of Muslim Canadians. We implore the Canadian government to come up with real measures to stop all forms of Islamophobia and dedicate significant resources to challenge this venom.
Canadian Muslims should continue practicing their faith and attending places of worship. We are reminded to remain vigilant, take appropriate measures to be safe and secure and to report any incident of Islamophobic hate to the authorities.
As part of the teachings of Islam, we remind the Muslim community to be particular with reciting du’as (supplication) of protection as taught by our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), to place trust in Allah, to perform voluntary prayers and to pray for the Afzaal family and the entire Canadian Muslim community.
We stand and pray together to keep our nation safe, peaceful and vibrant, free from all hate and violence.
Canadian Council of Muslim Theologians