Canada wraps its arms around victims of mosque attack

In the days since six Muslims were shot and killed inside a Quebec City mosque where they'd come to pray, Canadians everywhere have countered the hateful act through gestures of kindness, solidarity and support.

• Full coverage of the Quebec City mosque attack

On Monday, tens of thousands of Canadians gathered to honour the victimsat impromptu vigilsfrom east to west and as farnorth as Iqaluit,Nunavut.

On Friday, whilethousands gathered at the public funeralfor three of the slain men in Quebec City, in cities across Canada, people of all faiths gathered at their community's mosque in love and solidarity.

In Toronto, for example, hundreds of Jews and Christians formed protective "rings of peace"around mosques,an initiative of Rabbi YaelSplansky of Holy Blossom Temple.

Many Canadianshave gone anextra mile, finding unique ways to reach out and show Muslims in their communities that one violent act does not represent Canada as a whole.

We asked for your stories and have included some of them in this gallery.

A Dartmouth church posteda bold message on its sign in support of its Muslim brothers and sisters.

The morning after the deadly mosque attack, the music director at Grace United Church in Dartmouth, N.S. was on the treadmill at the gym, watching the news.

He decided something had to be said.

"I just felt that in many ways every Canadian had been assaulted by this event, and it didn't matter whether you were Christians, atheists or Muslim or Jewish or whatever,"MalcolmBradley told CBC News.

The church recently sponsored a family of Syrian refugees, and Rev. Stephen Fram said the cultural exchange taught the congregationa valuable lesson.

"We all believe and worship the God of love."

Anonymous neighboursleft roses outside a Montreal area mosque that's been threatened in the past.

It was a much needed gesture of support on a difficult day for the president of the mosque in the Montreal suburb of Dorval,Mehmet Deger: abouquet of roses and a sympathy card left anonymously on the front steps of the building.

The note,signed "yourDorvalneighbours" reads:

"We are devastated by such a brutal act. How do we explain this to all of our children? My family and I offer you these roses as a smallbutsincere token of our compassion and understanding."

Themosque has been vandalized several times over the years, andfor Deger, the flowers werea touching reminder that he has the support of many in thecommunity.

'You are safe here': Toronto high school students sent letters of hope and love to a neighbourhood mosque.

The morning after the deadly mosque attack, Toronto high school teacher Sam Pisanitossed out his lesson plan for the day.

Instead, he asked his Grade 11 students at Humberside Collegiate if they would each write a letter to a local mosque.

At the end of the day, he delivered 17 handwritten notes from his classto the Islamic Information &DawahCentre in Toronto.

For more on this story tap here.

Children at a school nearthe Quebec City mosque prayed for the victims.

Students at an elementary school nearthe mosque in Quebec City's Sainte-Foy boroughwhere the attack occurred took time on Tuesday to honour the victims of the deadly attack.

Fourth-gradechildrenplaced handcrafted signs in the snow in front of their school,under a banner that reads, in French, "All united."

Before returninginside, the students knelt to pray outside.

A Muslim-Jewish couple started a Go Fund Me campaign for the victims' families.

RominaNadeemwas three years old when she moved to Montreal from Pakistan with her family. It's been difficult for her to accept a violent act like the Quebec City shootingcan happen in Canada.

"My family came here to escape from any difficulties we had in Pakistan, and to see that happen in Quebec ... it's sad,"Nadeem said.

Herfianc,RomneyCopeman,woke up the morning after the deadly attack and,after consulting with Nadeem, he starteda Go Fund Me campaign to raise money for the families of the victims.

"It was a really good feeling to know that I'm with somebody who understands what the value of a human life is," Nadeem said. "He chose to do thisbecause he saw a community in pain."

So far, their campaign has raised more than$7,500.

The couple has been in contact with the treasurer at the Quebec Islamic Centre and plans to ensure all the funds go to the families of the victims and the mosque that was targeted.

Quilters put the call out for 'house' quilt blocks to offer gifts to victims' families.

Stephanie Baldwin is a quilter, and the morning after the attack, she posted a call to action to members of the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild and to quilters everywhere.

"This act of terrorismsimply will not standand in the hopes of sending a little comfort and strong message of support to our neighbours in their time of need, we are doing what we do as a quilt guild we are making quilts."

Baldwin has asked people to send inquilt blocks of houses, to "remind the recipients that this is their home, that they are an important part of this community." The plan is to make a quilt for the families of each of the six victims and for those who were injured, as well.

• Montreal Modern Quilt Guild's call to action

There really are Little Mosques on the Prairie, andmany felt the love of their neighbours of every faith.

Just a few days before the shooting attack in Quebec City, a group of men and women from Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Regina spent an evening at the Madni Islamic Centre learning about Islam. As soon as they learned of Sunday's incident, they sent flowers and anote offering their prayers.

In Yellowknife (OK, northofthe Prairies!) the chairman of the ISNA Canada Islamic Centre, Nazim Awan, was deluged with calls and emails from people he didn't know.

One man asked if he could come and visit the centre, and Awan invited him to bring his friends.

Word spread quickly, and that eveningmore than 300 people came to the vigil, despite the30 C weather.

"Yellowknifers support for Muslims by visiting YK Islamic Centre was impressive," Awan wrote CBC Montreal."We feel safe and appreciate our friends' and neighbours' kind actions."

As soon as citizens of Fort McMurray, Alta., learned of the attack,many came by the Markaz-ul-IslamMosque to drop off sympathy cardsand flowers.

Hundreds gathered at the Jubilee Provincial Building in FortMcMurrayon Wednesday, walking to the mosque in what they called a "unity walk for diversity and inclusion."

Canadians across the country did the same in their own communities, as theShah Jalal Mosque in Montreal's Saint-Henrineighbourhood can attest to, below.

Students at a Montreal high school turn a class discussion into action.

High school teacher Jennifer Nadeaudiscussed the attack with her students at Collge d'Anjou on Monday, the morning after the shooting occurred.

"They mobilized to write these banners along with a messageofsupport to the Muslim community," said Nadeau.

"The compassion that was shown is helping to comfort a community that needs to be spoken up for now more than ever," she said.

A group of friends served hot chocolate at Montreal's vigil, and when it ran out, more appeared along with 200samosas.

ZahraAl-Mawlawi put out a call to friends onWhatsAppto distribute hot chocolate to those who attended Monday'svigil in Montreal for the shooting victims.

"My friend and I held a sign translated in both French and English: "Solidarity Hot Chocolate" and "ChocolatChauddeSolidarit," she said in aFacebookmessage to CBC Montreal.

Others in her group served TimHorton'sdonuts and Timbits, and she said people's responses were gratifying.

"They came up, thanked us for keeping them warm, asked us questions about our faith, offered [their]condolences and wondered who we were," she said.

The supply of hot chocolate ran out within 20 minutes, however, before they could get to TimHorton'sto replenish it, a group of students showed up and dropped a few more cartons of hot chocolate on the table. Soon after, someone else showed up with 200samosas.

"As odd a combination as it was,samosasand hot chocolate, it further emphasized the beauty of diversity and unity," Al-Mawlawi said.

Vigil attendees create a'live painting' for members of the Quebec City mosque targeted in the attack.

Aquil Viraniis an artist and graphic designer who invited those attending Monday's vigil in Montreal to write messages in English, French, Spanish and Arabic to the victims of Sunday's attack, framing his depiction of Muslim hands in prayer, holdingtasbih, or prayer beads.

The painting is being sent as a gift to the Islamic cultural centre in Sainte-Foy, where the attack occurred.