The twin attacks in Quebec province and in Canada’s capital that killed two soldiers have shaken Canadians. But the silver lining is that Canadians have not abandoned their principles or their sanity and that the country may even emerge stronger from this ordeal.

 

Canada is no stranger to violence. As early as 1868 D’Arcy McGee, a Father of Canadian Confederation and a cabinet minister, was assassinated in Ottawa near the Parliament.

 

The country was born in violence between the French and the British, and the killings of the Aboriginal people. In the recent past, a Quebec cabinet minister was slain, women were mowed down in Montreal, an Air India plane was blown up killing 329 people, the Turkish Embassy was attacked killing one person, a bus was hijacked at Parliament Hill, and an intruder burst into the house of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who grabbed a stone carving to defend himself while his wife called the police. This is a small sample of violence in Canada.  No Muslim was involved.

 

In 2006, however, security services thwarted a plot by the Toronto 18 Muslims to attack Parliament. In 2013, two Muslims were charged with planning to derail a passenger train. This year an Ottawa judge sent technician Misbahuddin Ahmed to jail for 12 years for terrorism. His co-conspirator Hiva Mohammed Alizadeh got 24 years while a third accused Khurram Sher was acquitted.

 

But the cold-blooded murder of two soldiers, one was shot and the other was hit by a car, has shaken Canada the most. Perhaps this is because in one case the attacker got into Parliament House and could have killed many members. Or maybe it is because the so-called Islamic State has said it will kill Canadians because Canada has joined the war against it.Both Mark Couture-Rouleau, who rammed warrant officer Patrice Vincent in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who shot Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who was standing guard at the National War Memorial close to Parliament, were troubled youth, involved in drugs and crime and in confrontations with police. Both embraced Islam, though their extremist views made Muslims shun them. Reportedly they learned about Islam mostly through the Internet. With investigation underway, there is no reliable evidence as to why these men, who were born and raised in Christian homes in Canada, would become cold-blooded killers of innocent fellow Canadians.

 

Muslims throughout Canada have condemned the killings and have asserted that such violence has no place in Islam. There is a move afoot in the Muslim community to raise funds to help Cpl. Cirillo’s four-year-old son. Others are stating that Muslims must develop a system to impart Islamic values to new Muslims. But most Muslim organizations only provide religious services, such as prayers and part-time schools. Very few have developed an efficient system of assisting youth, the mentally ill, widows, refugees, new immigrants, new Muslims, seniors and others.

 

The Toronto 18, Ahmed and some others were not troubled youth and had been Muslim all their lives. They seem to have picked up extremism from the social media and the Internet. They may also have been influenced by the unprovoked US invasion of Iraq, the drone attacks in several countries that kill US-suspected extremists and also innocent people, the massive US aid to Israel which enables it to keep Palestinians under relentless occupation and so on.

 

Canada has nothing to do with such savagery. So it is hard to understand why a country that treats Muslims as it treats other citizens, and which in many cases shelters Muslims fleeing from persecution in Muslim countries, would incur the wrath of such Muslims. Nevertheless, it has been targeted.

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau have emphasized that Canada will remain solid in defense of its values. But Trudeau also told Canadian Muslims: “To our friends and fellow citizens in the Muslim community, Canadians know acts such as these committed in the name of Islam are an aberration of your faith. Continued mutual cooperation and respect will help prevent the influence of distorted ideological propaganda posing as religion. We will walk forward together, not apart.”

 

Mulcair then rushed a message to some mosques which said in part: “As we struggle to comprehend these terrible events, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim brothers and sisters. We are all Canadian, and we have all been profoundly touched by this tragedy. In the days and weeks to come, whether talking about protecting civilians in the Middle East, fighting racism and Islamophobia or ensuring rights are respected here at home, New Democrats can be counted on to stand up for human rights.”

 

A Conservative Member of Parliament in Ottawa, Royal Galipeau, thanked a Friday congregation in a mosque for their contributions to Canada.

 

When windows were smashed in a mosque in Cold Lake, Alberta, and “Go Home” written on its walls, Mayor Craig Copeland condemned the vandalism. Neighbors rushed to the mosque to donate money for repairs, to wash away the graffiti, and to write “This is home” and “Love your neighbor.” “I’m really proud,” said the mayor. So are many Canadians, including Muslims.

 

— Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge.