REGINA – Dozens of Muslims in the city marched on downtown sidewalks Saturday, to condemn last month’s shooting in Ottawa that killed a reservist.
Habib Rehman, the president of the local chapter of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada , said the acts of violence does not represent their religious beliefs.
“Muslims are portrayed as terrorists, not due to any fault of media. It’s due to their own fault; these terrorist organizations. They’re portraying the wrong picture of Islam,” he explained.
Rehman added the local Muslim community has not felt threatened in wake of the attacks.
The participants marched from city hall to the Cornwall Centre and back in the afternoon. They waved flags and held posters of support for Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces.
“The teaching of Islam is to love your country, and that’s part of Islamic faith,” he said.
The rally was an opportunity to show solidarity not just as Muslims but as Canadians.
“We’re not going to allow them to hijack either our country, or our values, or our beliefs,” said participant Shazia Rehman.
Similar demonstrations have been held in several cities across Canada, including Saskatoon two weeks ago.
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