Encounters Between Violence and Media| Remembering January 29: The Québec City Mosque Shootings and the Struggle for Recognition

Abstract

On January 29, 2017, a gunman strode into the grand mosque in Québec City, Canada, and opened fire on the congregation, killing six and injuring 19 Muslims. The tragedy was widely covered in the local, national, and international media. In addition to providing details about the victims and the perpetrator, most of the immediate coverage focused on the outpouring of sympathy and empathy for the victims’ families and communities. The visibility of this performance of support contrasts sharply with the invisibility of state-sanctioned structural and interpersonal violence that Muslims continue to encounter in Québec on a daily basis. This article focuses on Muslim communities’ call for the recognition of the escalating violence of Islamophobia, paying particular attention to the Remember January 29 digital campaigns and memorial posts on various websites. The article argues that the digital campaigns contributed to the Canadian nation’s recognition of January 29 as a day of commemoration.