Faith based organizations form 'ring of peace' around Vaughan mosque

Event roughly marks 1 month anniversary of fatal mosque shooting in Quebec City

Yorkregion.com
March 3, 2017
By Ali Raza

Despite frigid temperatures, more than 100 people from across the community - of all faiths - stood in solidarity with their Muslim neighbours in a “ring of peace” at the Jaffari Community Centre March 3.

JCC - situated on Bathurst Street - is at the heart of a multicultural community where people of different faiths co-exist peacefully. People sang songs of peace outside while members of JCC’s congregation attended their Friday prayers inside the mosque.

The event roughly marks the one month anniversary of the fatal mosque shooting in Quebec City, in which six Canadian Muslims were killed on Jan. 29, 2017.

The ring of peace was a collaborative effort of Mosaic Interfaith, Neshamah, JCC and other faith-based groups. Neshamah’s Rabbi Erin Polansky said she was inspired by acts of solidarity and other “rings of peace” that occurred in Toronto days after the Quebec shooting.

“I think we’re seeing a lot more stories like this one,” she said. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing horrible anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic acts. We’ve seen cemeteries desecrated, mosques burned and vandalized, yet more and more it’s the Muslim communities coming to the defense of Jewish communities and Jewish communities coming to the defense of Muslim communities.”

“It’s so heartening,” Polansky added.

Members of JCC were grateful for the gesture, with many reiterating to their neighbours of different faiths that “we’re all Canadian.”

JCC vice president Shabbir Jaffer said the act signified the strength of communities.

“When you have a society that’s like a fabric, if people try to create tension in that fabric, holes or tears, what endures is community - community engagement, community ties, community bonding," he said. "This is what today demonstrates: that no matter what happens, no matter who’s in power or in office, communities will stick up for each other.”

The ring of peace was inspired by an event in Oslo, Norway in February 2015, when a group of Muslims formed a ring around the city’s main synagogue to express support after a series of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe.

“It shouldn’t take a tragedy to bring people together, but bridges are being built and relationships are being forged,” Polansky said.