Shedding light on dark memory of Quebec mosque shooting

In a hotel room in downtown Ottawa, Ryan Slobojan and his daughter, Elizabeth, carefully attach printed messages of support to 320 LED candles.

The two travelled to the capital from Pickering, Ont., on Sundaywith a plan to hand out thebundles at a vigil on Tuesday night, one of many being held across the country to mark the second anniversary of a deadly shooting inside amosque in Quebec City.

"The idea behind the candles is they're a symbol of the ability of thelight of knowledge and friendship to push back the darkness of ignorance and hate,"saidSlobojan, founder of Push Back the Darkness, an initiative that aims to shinelight on theimpacts of hate and ignorance.

The software developer distinctly remembers the night he learned six men had been shot dead while praying inside the Centre culturelIslamique de Qubec (Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec).

"I could not believe that something like that could happen here inCanada," he said. "I knew I had to take some kind of meaningful action."

The next day, Slobojan picked up his daughter ather school bus stop and went to the nearest mosque in Pickering. They brought with them a cardboard sign bearing the simple message, "free hugs."

Having never been to a mosque before, Slobojan said he was nervous about scaring people especially the day after the Quebec City attack.

But he said their gesture waswarmly received as he and Elizabeth greeted peopleat the building's entrance.

"I don't think I'd ever seen such large smiles on people'sfaces," Slobojan recalled.

Slobojan said it was important to him that his daughter was there to learn about thediversity of her community.

Elizabeth, now 7, recalls having agood time greeting people at the mosque that afternoon.

"I felt really, really good andhappy because giving hugs is a nice thing to do... and it makes them feel more safe," she said.

On the one-year anniversary of the shooting,Slobojan sent candles to that same Pickeringmosque. Hewas inspired by a famous quote from MartinLuther King Jr.: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Since then,Slobojan and his daughter have continued to reach out to the Muslim community, most recently with a train trip to Quebec City last week, to give more free hugs at the the very mosque where the attack took place in 2017.

There, theymet three men who survived the shooting.

"From this friendship and seeing how warmly we were welcomed, it helped me realizehow important it is to take action. I'm hoping to inspire others to do similar things," Slobojan said.

A vigil marking the two-year anniversary is planned for Tuesday at the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill, beginning at 5:45 p.m.