The shooters could be “Islamophobes” who screamed “Allahu akbar” mockingly. Or they could be Muslims who were firing upon other Muslims whom they deem heretical: a Sunni-Shia dispute, or adherents of the Islamic State versus opponents of it.
In any case, this is being covered as if it were an “anti-Muslim hate crime,” and it may be. However, this story that notes that the gunmen were screaming “Allahu akbar” is notably free of the laments about “Islamophobia” that were in earlier stories about the shooting. There is no certainty at this point that it was an “anti-Muslim hate crime,” and the screams of “Allahu akbar” open up the possibility that this was yet another “anti-Muslim hate crime” committed by Muslims.
“Multiple dead, 2 arrested in shooting at Quebec City mosque,” CBC News, January 29, 2017:
Quebec City Police say several people are dead after shots were fired inside a Quebec City mosque on Sunday night.
Multiple people are also feared wounded. Their condition is not known at this time.
A few dozen people were inside the Islamic cultural centre of Quebec in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood when the shooting began just after 8 p.m.
Quebec City Police Constable Étienne Doyon said mostly men were gathered at the mosque for evening prayers.
The director of the centre said at least five people were killed, but that information has not been confirmed by police.
Two suspects have been arrested, one of whom was apprehended after a chase that ended near l’île d’Orléans.
A large perimeter has been set up around the mosque.
‘A Quebecois accent’
A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, told CBC’s French-language service Radio-Canada that two masked individuals entered the mosque.
“It seemed to me that they had a Quebecois accent. They started to fire, and as they shot they yelled, ‘Allahu akbar!’ The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head,” said the witness.
“There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father.”…