USA: 'We Forgive Him' -- At Open House, Meriden Mosque Has Message For Shooter

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Mohammed Qureshi, president of the Connecticut chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said mosque members' loyalty to the United States "takes precedence over everything else."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Hartford Courant
By Kristin Stoller | November 21, 2015

Meriden Mosque Hold Open House; Praises Community For Support -- Members of a Meriden mosque invited the community in for an open house after shooting

MERIDEN — Muslim community leaders Saturday encouraged the person who shot at Baitul Aman mosque earlier this month to come there, be welcomed and be forgiven.

"We forgive him and invite him to our mosque to learn about us," said Salaam Bhatti, deputy spokesman of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. "While we hope and pray he does not do these things again, we warmly welcome him to our mosque."

More than 60 people attended an open house on Saturday afternoon at the mosque, located at 410 Main St. The open house follows incident in which someone fired into the walls of the mosque sometime after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris. The mosque was empty at the time.

"We guarantee you will not find extremists coming from this mosque," Bhatti said. "You are safe here."

Kevin Scarpati, chairman of the city council's public safety committee and mayor-elect, said Friday that police Chief Jeffry Cossette told him authorities have a suspect. On Saturday, Bhatti said the FBI may have apprehended the suspect.

No one was injured in the shooting, and there were no regular prayer services on Nov. 14, because most members were in New York for the third annual "Holy Quran and Science" symposium.

Members found four bullet holes in the wall next to the prayer hall when they returned Sunday evening. One bullet had struck the mosque's concrete foundation, two more traveled through an outer wall, and a fourth pierced both exterior walls and an interior partition. The shots were fired from the direction of Main Street.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy visited the mosque Friday afternoon to pay his respects, and told members that he stood with them.

Mohammed Qureshi, president of the Connecticut chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said mosque members' loyalty to the United States "takes precedence over everything else."

"The purpose of the open house is to try to build bridges so you don't fear us," Qureshi said. "I always say that my religion, Islam, has been hijacked by these terrorists."

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, spoke at the mosque against those who complete "atrocious, criminal, hateful acts" and said it was up to those in attendance to stand up for the true values of peace, respect and harmony.

"Clearly what you are doing, what we are doing here today by coming together, is what must happen, because fear comes often from ignorance, hatred starts from fear of the unknown and that is why it is so important we must start with our children," Esty said. "We have a lot of work we need to do to make sure all of our children have a better understanding of this diverse and wonderful and beautiful world."

Scarpati, who also spoke at Saturday's open house, reminded attendees that the mosque members came to Meriden in 2007 and have always cared about being involved in the community.

The shooting was an isolated incident, he said, adding that he and other members of community stand with the mosque.

Regional Imam Hamid Malik said the community must unite against terrorists, such as the Islamic State. Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malik said returning violence for violence multiples violence.

"ISIS doesn't represent Islam," he said, "just as the person who shot at this mosque doesn't represent Americans."


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