The reverberations of the hate crime on June 6, 2021 will be felt by London’s Muslim community forever. Purple and green ribbons can be seen on people’s chests as a show of unity around the southwestern Ontario city, and the impact of this despicable act can’t be shaken.
Walking the streets as a Muslim can’t be done without a heightened sense of one’s surroundings. While following culturally traditional or religious customs publicly always came with the awareness that some form of misinformed judgment was possible, that it could be fatal -- here in Ontario, Canada -- is an altogether different proposition and daunting reality.