ONTARIO (Dispatches) – Muslim and non-Muslim women in the Canadian city of London have joined forces to organize an event in which all of them wear the Islamic headdress called hijab as part of a national call against Islamophobia in the country.
The Friday night rally drew hundreds of participants in London in an effort to educate local residents on the hijab and the need to combat persisting Islamophobia across Canada following the terrorist killing of a Muslim family in the city by a man, local news outlet Global News reported.
Dubbed Hijabs for Harmony, the rally was organized by local lawyer Barbara Legate and was modeled on a similar event that took place after an attack on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019 that left 51 people dead and 40 injured.
The event was part of a number of other gatherings held across the country to press the Canadian government to address the issue of Islamophobia amid surging attacks against Muslims and Islamic places of worship in recent months.
Legate said in a speech to the crowd, she organized the rally to show support for Muslim women following what police said was a hate-motivated attack June 6 on a Muslim family in London that killed four people.
“It is to demonstrate we are your allies, my Muslim sisters,” Legate said. “To be good allies we must educate ourselves.”
After a short program of speakers the crowd walked to the park’s Richmond Street gate before returning to the bandshell for a moment of silence and more speakers.
The rally, which began at 5 p.m. and featured several speakers from the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), was followed by what was referred to as “a solidarity walk” around the city’s Victoria Park and a moment of silence for the Azaal family, four of whom were killed earlier this month when the man plowed his pickup truck into the Muslim family of five as they were taking a walk.
“In a time when a lot of women are scared to go out with their scarf on because now they have become a visible minority, this show of support encourages them to continue on with the choice they have taken,” said London resident and a MAC member Reem Sultan.
Sultan said following the June 6 attack in London, she and her family were scared and wondered if they should leave their house because wearing the hijab made her visibly Muslim.
The suspect accused of killing the Canadian Muslim family is now facing terrorism charges in the case.
Nathaniel Veltman, 20, faces first-degree and attempted murder charges. New charges alleging the attack was an act of terrorism were unveiled last Monday.