As salaam
alaykum to the Columbus Sufi Circle-
I've been wanting to say something about events in the Muslim world since
Tuesday when the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in Libya was attacked by protesters
reacting to protests in Egypt reacting to widespread internet distribution of a
small mean-spirited anti-Muslim movie. Since then similar dire things have
occurred in Tunisia, in Lebanon, in Palestine, in Indonesia, in Sudan, in
Yemen, Bangladesh, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Iraq, in Malaysia,
in Nigeria, in Syria .......
As a convert, I have felt I might lack the standing to say what I feel about
this - but others who have far more experience than I have said much of what I
would. So I copy here what they have said.
Peace and Blessings, Hilal
(from the
Niagara Foundation)
"The
Niagara Foundation condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the mindless and
brutal attack of a mob of extremists against the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in
Libya. We abhor and deeply mourn the resulting deaths of four American civil
servants, including the widely respected U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J.
Christopher Stevens.
As an
organization founded by Muslims and inspired by the teachings of M. Fethullah
Gülen, we feel a profound sense of revulsion and betrayal whenever even a few
people claiming to be Muslims become so misguided that they fail to realize
that, by engaging in acts of violence against innocent fellow human beings, it
is they who are disgracing the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon
him, far more than the hateful and equally misguided people who seek to incite
violence by denigrating, in the crudest and most provocative of ways, what is
sacred to others.
In the
immediate aftermath of the eleventh anniversary of the attacks of September
11th, 2001, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those whose lives
were lost in Libya, as well as the victims of violence in other places in the
world where ignorance and fear blind people to the divine gift of our common
humanity."
http://www.niagarafoundation.org/ohio
(from CAIR
Ohio)
"The Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-Ohio) will host an interfaith candlelight vigil on Friday,
September 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Broad and High Streets.
The vigil is in response to killings of American diplomats in Libya.
"There is a great
deal of sadness today in the American Muslim community regarding these attacks,
which are in no way reflective of the American Muslim community or of the
Islamic faith," said Jennifer Nimer, CAIR-Ohio Legal Director.
"We offer our support and condolences to all victims of these violent
acts, but hope that through tragedy we can forge constructive dialogue and
mutual understanding. CAIR yesterday called
on Muslims in the Middle East to ignore the distribution of the
"trashy" anti-Islam film, clips of which are circulating online, that
resulted in the attacks. " ohio.cair.com/ohio-chapters/columbus-a-central-ohio.html
(from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned in The Washington Post)
"In a speech Friday that a senior administration official described as
“really strong,” Erdogan said that “both the mentality and the
organization behind this movie and those perpetrating terrorist actions
exploiting Islamic symbols and discourse” were equally to be condemned. "
