Close X
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
ADVT 
National

Mayor Signs Deed For Quebec City's First Muslim Cemetery, Set To Open In Spring

Darpan News Desk, 19 Dec, 2019 12:00 AM

    Quebec City's mayor has signed a deed of sale for a parcel of land that will soon become the region's first Muslim cemetery.

     

    Mayor Regis Labeaume had promised the land to the city's Muslim community in 2017, shortly after residents of a nearby town voted against a proposal to open an Islamic cemetery in their area.

     

    The mayor was joined for the public signing Thursday by Boufeldja Benabdallah, president of the main mosque in Quebec City, who thanked Labeaume for pushing ahead with the project and avoiding a divisive debate.

     

    Benabdallah says Quebec City's Muslims have been working to have their own cemetery for 20 years.

     

    Community members seeking formal Islamic burials have had to send their dead to Montreal.

     

    The Quebec City Muslim cemetery is expected to open by the spring.

     

    Benabdallah's mosque was the site of a mass shooting in January 2017, when a gunman murdered six men in the main prayer hall.

     

    The following summer, residents of Saint-Apollinaire, 35 kilometres southwest of Quebec City, rejected a proposal to open the area's first Muslim cemetery on their territory, by a vote of 19 to 16.

     

    At Thursday's ceremony, Labeaume invited citizens to "love each other." He told reporters Quebec City is changing, and new waves of immigration will make the city — and the rest of the province — more diverse.

     

    "As of today, we need to start thinking about what we can do, about the steps we can take in our community, so that we can all live together in harmony," he said.

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment Will Deliver Better Health Care In A Growing Region

    Major facility upgrades at Burnaby Hospital and two new patient-care towers will give people in this growing community faster access to better health care.    

    Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment Will Deliver Better Health Care In A Growing Region

    Toronto Man Imran Muhammad Charged With Child Pornography Involving Direct Contact With 10-Year-Old Girl

    Investigators determined that Imran Muhammad was in direct contact with a young girl believed to be under 10 years of age.

    Toronto Man Imran Muhammad Charged With Child Pornography Involving Direct Contact With 10-Year-Old Girl

    Safer Schools On The Way For Surrey Families

    More than 1,000 students in Surrey will soon be in safer classrooms, with seismic upgrades coming to Holly Elementary and George Greenaway Elementary schools.    

    Safer Schools On The Way For Surrey Families

    Launch of The New 9-1-1 Police Dispatcher Recruiting Program

    Acareer as a Police Dispatcher can be a very rewarding and fulfilling. It requires both physical skills and mental acuity. 

    Launch of The New 9-1-1 Police Dispatcher Recruiting Program

    Jane Philpott Stands By Commitment She Made As A Liberal Not To Oppose Abortion

    OTTAWA - Jane Philpott says she stands by the commitment she made as a Liberal candidate to support access to abortion despite her personal beliefs.    

    Jane Philpott Stands By Commitment She Made As A Liberal Not To Oppose Abortion

    Former Hostage Joshua Boyle Tells Court His Wife Was Unstable, Violent

    Boyle testified during his assault trial in Ontario court that Coleman had a tempestuous personality and was mercurial at the best of times.

    Former Hostage Joshua Boyle Tells Court His Wife Was Unstable, Violent