American Muslim civil advocacy groups have strongly denounced the killing of worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh PA. In solidarity with the Jewish community two Muslim organizations have raised around $200,000 to help victims and their families of the synagogue shooting.
Robert Bowers, a white supremacist stormed into the synagogue during Sabbath and fired upon innocent men, women, and children attending religious services, killing 11 and wounding 5. The shooting took place during a bris, a baby naming ceremony.
There were close to 100 people inside of the synagogue at the time of the attack. Robert Bowers, a 46-year-old resident of Pittsburgh, was arrested at the scene. Bowers yelled “all Jews must die” as he entered the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
U.S. Attorney Scott Brady filed federal hate crimes charges against Bowers on Saturday evening. Those charges include:
Eleven counts each of Obstruction of Exercise of Religious Beliefs Resulting in Death and Use of a Firearm to Commit Murder During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, four counts of Obstruction of Exercise of Religious Beliefs Resulting in Bodily Injury to a Public Safety Officer and three counts of Use and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.
An hour before the shooting, Bowers reportedly wrote on a social media site, Gab, “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in.” HIAS is the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a group that helps refugees.
Muslim groups raise about $ 200,000.00 for Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting victims
Celebrate Mercy and MPower Change have banded together to raise money for their Jewish brothers and sisters at Tree of Life Or L’Simcha Congregation, which was the target of Saturday’s attack. They started a campaign on the Muslim-focused crowdfunding site LaunchGood in the hopes of raising $25,000 for the synagogue victims and their families. They are now close to $200,000.
Once their goal has been hit, the groups say, the funds will be immediately transferred to the local Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, so they can be disbursed to the families to pay for medical and funeral expenses.
“We wish to respond to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action,” the groups said in describing the campaign on its crowdfunding page. “The Muslim-American community extends its hands to help the shooting victims, whether it is the injured victims or the Jewish families who have lost loved ones.”
“Through this campaign, we hope to send a united message from the Jewish and Muslim communities that there is no place for this type of hate and violence in America. We pray that this restores a sense of security and peace to the Jewish-American community who has undoubtedly been shaken by this event,” the groups said.
The American Muslim Voice (AMV) has strongly condemned the tragic massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA, on Saturday Oct. 27.
In a statement, the AMV National President Khalid Saeed said the AMV denounces hate in all its forms, and will continue working with all communities, including the Jewish community, to combat the hate and discrimination that affects us all.
“What happened Saturday is the worst nightmare for any religious community. We stand in solidarity and pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters. We denounce hate in all its forms and condemns the anti-Semitism that motivated this horrific incident.”
The Muslim Advocates strongly condemned the killing of worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh PA.
In a statement Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, said:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and the Jewish community of Pittsburgh. Places of worship should be safe havens and sanctuaries. Rising anti-Semitism is a scourge in our nation and must end.”
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) offered its sincerest condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA, this past Saturday, and strongly condemns the hatefully-motivated attack.
The murder of the innocent worshippers during morning services shocks the conscience and is a reminder that if left unchecked, white nationalism will continue to spread deadly violence across America, the ADC said in a statement on Sunday.
The ADC calls on the Trump administration to immediately disavow white nationalism/supremacy, and to stop the assault and targeting of immigrants and refugees. The administration of Donald Trump has provided an opportunity for the ideology of hate to fester into the open, and as a result we have seen a wave of violence targeting minority communities. White nationalism and supremacy threatens the safety of minority communities across the country. It is the duty of our elected officials, including the President, to stand up against this ideology and demonstrate that such hate crimes will not be forgotten.
The ADC stands against all hate crimes and pledges to continue fighting them. ADC denounces hate in all its forms, and will continue working with all communities, including the Jewish community, to combat the hate and discrimination that affects us all, the ADC statement concluded.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also denounced the attack on Synagogue.
CAIR-Pittsburgh Program Director Zohra Lasania said:
“We condemn this heinous and cowardly attack on a house of worship, offer heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of all those who were killed or injured and express our solidarity with the Jewish community during this time of shock and grief.”
The Florida Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida) expressed solidarity with the Jewish community in Pittsburgh and nationwide following a deadly attack on a synagogue in that city.
In a statement, CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hassan Shibly said on Saturday:
“An attack on one synagogue is an attack on every mosque, church, temple and place of peace and worship in this country. We feel utterly sickened to learn that 11 of our Jewish brothers and sisters were killed in cold blood as they worshiped today by a man driven by hate.”
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) strongly condemned the terrible carnage Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA.
In a statement the organization said that ICNA stands in solidarity with the victims and the Jewish community struck by this terrorist act of anti-semitism.
The synagogue is a partner of the Jewish group HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which was supporting efforts to bring and resettle refugees, including Muslim immigrants, in the United States, ICNA statement said adding: ICNA resolves to confront the scourge of antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, bigotry, and xenophobia in all of its ugly forms.
The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), the largest coalition of leading national and local Muslim-American organizations, vehemently condemned the heinous crime committed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, during Saturday morning services when a gunman uttered anti-semitic slurs, opened fire on the congregants, and killed 11 people and injured few others.
The USCMO, in a statement said, it “denounces hate in all its forms and condemns the anti-Semitism that motivated this harrowing incident. We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were hurt by this violence, and to all those in our Jewish communities who are reeling from this staggering news.”
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the chief editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com
Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org/