'Time to turn the page': Quebec rallies call for unity after mosque killings

A week after a gunman killed sixworshippers at a Quebec mosque,faith leaders and concerned citizenscame together at events in Montreal and Quebec City to call for unity, peace and an end to the hatred that sparked the violence.

In Montreal, the one-week anniversary of the shooting was marked with a multi-faith service outsideCity Hall organized by the Canadian Muslim Alliance.

The event brought together imams, rabbis, a Catholic bishop and protestant ministers whospokeon themes of interfaith unity and understanding.

"When you light a candle with many wicks, you end up with one large flame, and this is what we see here," said Rabbi AviFinegold.

"It's time to turn thepage and to get busy cultivating this spirit of unity," said ImamSidiMohamedElAlaouiof the CentreCulturelIslamiquedu Laval.

"I ask everyone to come together, to work together to understand each other. That way we will succeed, as a magnificent community and country."

Out of tragedy, Canada taps into its 'best'

WriterIdilIssaaddressedIslamophobiain Quebec and said the time has cometo charta new course away from old suspicions.

"A discourse of exclusion, ofmarginalization, ofotheringhasn't gotten us anywhere," she said.

"We need to set our sights higher not on these petty politics of division and fear, but on what we have to contribute to the world as a diverse, strong Quebec."

Bishop ThomasDowdof the Archdiocese of Montreal said he's starting to see those better angels of human naturecoming to the fore.

"A week ago, we saw a manifestation of the worst kind of attitudes that can infect the human heart. But today, and in the days to come, I believe we're going to see the best of what our Canadian, our Quebec, our Montreal society has to offer," he said.

"Right now, at this moment, we're starting to live that best," he said to applause.

At the end of the event, non-Muslim participantsformed a symbolicwall around Muslim participants as they prayed.

Quebec City rallies against ignorance

In Quebec City, severalhundred people marched through the streets of the provincial capital in an event organized by the CentreCulturelIslamiquedeQubec(Islamic cultural centreof Quebec),where the shootings last Sunday occurred.

"We want to overcome ignorance.We want Muslims and non-Muslims to walk side by side. This is an opportunity for us to know each other more," saidSmailKalla, one of the organizers.

The event cappeda weekend of events across Canada denouncing Islamophobia.

Participants with signs reading "Unity is strength" and "We are all family"gathered at Laval University and made their way to Quebec's National Assembly.

Victims remembered

After public funerals for victims on Thursday in Montreal and Friday in Quebec City, smaller ceremonies were held for two of the victims on the weekend.

MamadouTanouBarry, a 42-year-old father of two originally from Guinea, was laid to rest at a cemetery in Laval.

The funeral forAbdelkrim Hassane, 41, was held Saturday in Algeria. He worked as a programming analyst for the Quebec government andhad three daughters, aged 10, eight and 15 months.

• Full coverage of the Quebec City mosque attack