Thursday, December 17, 2015

USA: Cleveland Muslims will hold prayer vigil for San Bernardino shooting victims and their families


"The Quran teaches us the killing of an innocent is like the destruction of mankind. Our hearts and prayers go out to the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with them as their brothers and sisters in peace."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Plain Dealer
By Brian Albrecht | December 16, 2015

CLEVELAND, Ohio -– A prayer vigil for the victims of the Dec. 2 shootings by a Muslim couple in San Bernardino, California, will be held Friday, Dec. 18, at theBait-ul-Ahad Mosque, 297 Center Road, Bedford.

The mosque is one of more than 15,000 internationally of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and the purpose of its 6 p.m. vigil is twofold, according to Dr. Nasim Rehmatullah, Cleveland chapter president and senior vice president of the national organization.

First, "this prayer vigil is symbolic of what we believe true Islam is all about, compassion and love for mankind, rather than extremism and violence," he said.

Secondly, Rehmatullah noted that "human beings have a responsibility to each other, no matter what faith they belong to, and they should share the sorrow and pain of others ... especially the people who lost loved ones to the unnecessary violence caused by these extremists."

In an earlier statement regarding the San Bernardino shootings, Rehmatullah noted, "We condemn this senseless and horrific act of violence in the strongest possible terms.

"The Quran teaches us the killing of an innocent is like the destruction of mankind," he added. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with them as their brothers and sisters in peace."

The vigil is open to the general public, and Rehmatullah said about half the 300 members of the mosque are expected to attend.

He noted that the Bedford mayor and chief of police have been invited to the vigil, as well as pastors from local churches.

"That's very important," he said. "They should come and say a few words, a prayer, whatever they want to do.

"My hope is that at least in our neighborhood, people can come and see who we are and what we are and get a better understanding that will reduce the mistrust or any kind of bad feeling people have about Muslims and Islam in general."




Read original post here: USA: Cleveland Muslims will hold prayer vigil for San Bernardino shooting victims and their families


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times. Ahmadiyya Times is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.

Top read stories during last 7 days

Disclaimer!

THE TIMES OF AHMAD is NOT an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites. Times of Ahmad is an independently run and privately managed news / contents archival website; and does not claim to speak for or represent the official views of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The Times of Ahmad assumes full responsibility for the contents of its web pages. The views expressed by the authors and sources of the news archives do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Times of Ahmad. All rights associated with any contents archived / stored on this website remain the property of the original owners.