CANADIAN MUSLIM COMMUNITY HOLDS PRAYER FOR OFFICIAL KILLED

Edmonton, Canada,  8 Muharram 1436/1 November 2014 (MINA) – Nearly 100 members of Edmonton’s Muslim community held a prayer ceremony in front of the Alberta Legislature on Friday to express their condolences to the families of slain soldiers Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo.

Vincent, a veteran soldier who was killed in a deliberate hit-and-run attack in St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, will be honoured Saturday with a military funeral. Cirillo, who was gunned down last week as he stood guard at the War Memorial in Ottawa, was laid to rest in a procession and funeral in Hamilton on Tuesday, Edmonton Sun quoted by Mi’raj Islamic New Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who fatally shot Cirillo, was a recent Muslim convert. People like Zehaf-Bibeau who are radicalized “have a misunderstanding of what Islam stands for,” said Murtada Shah with the Muslim Association of Canada.

“In my mind and the Muslim Association of Canada, Islam represents peace and our purpose is to contribute to the benefit of society wherever we are,” said Shah, who helped organize Friday’s ceremony so the community could express their sorrow and show solidarity with Canadians.

The event was held at the legislature after Ward 5 Councillor Michael Oshry and Edmonton-McClung MLA David Xiao approached Speaker Gene Zwozdesky, who said he was honoured to speak at the ceremony.

Edmonton-Mill Woods MLA Sohail Quadri participated in the ceremony. He said the community of Cold Lake showed the generosity of Canadians when they painted over graffiti placed at a local mosque.

“I think it shows as a community, a responsibility to reach out and show people because truly, the Islam I believe teaches that if you kill one human, you kill the humanity,” said Quadri.

“It’s not an attack on soldiers, it’s an attack on us and as Canadians we will not allow that.” (T/R04/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)