June 15th, 2016 at 7pm: Brother Amer Nabil and Imam Sami Abdul Aziz attended a Interfaith Vigil for the victims of the Orlando attack on behalf of the Muslim community at Unitarian Universalist Society: East in Manchester CT under Qalem Peace Initiative.

Program:
-Gathering Music  (Debbie Vinnick)
-Welcome and Chalice Lighting “Legacy” by Elizabeth Tarbox (Rev. Josh Pawelek)
-Song “Comfort Me”
-Prayer, Rabbi Richard Plavin Beth Shalom B’nai Israel, Manchester
-Music “We Hear Your Cry”
-Reflections
Imam Sami Abdul Aziz, Lighthouse for Humanity, Bloomfield Muslim Community Center
Amer Nabil – Manchester Resident of 16 years
Rev. Persida Rivera Mendez, Ministerio Nueva Creacion
-Song “One Day” by Matisyahu  (Jenn Richards)
-Reflections
Saud Anwar, South Windsor City Council
Bishop John Selders, Amistad UCC and Moral Monday CT
-Candle Lighting    (Debbie Vinick accompanying)
-Reading  excerpt from “Poem for July 4^th, 1994” by Sonia Sanchez
-Song “There is More Love”
-Benediction Rev. Cheryl A. Caronna, Faith Formation Director, Center Congregational Chuch
-Departing Music – Debbie Vinick

Amer Nabil’s statement:
My sincere thoughts and prayers are with the families in Orlando who are without their loved ones today. I pray to  God, the Almighty, to give the families, the strength and patience in order to cope with the emotional pain they are suffering at this time.

My brothers and sisters in humanity, I am a proud Muslim and a proud American. I love my religion and I love this country. By profession, I am a Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, who has been working and serving in this community. My religion of Islam teaches me to be compassionate, tolerant and considerate.

The messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, said “Show kindness to God’s creations on earth, so that God may be kind to you”

Especially, in this month of Ramadan, when myself and Muslims all over the world are fasting, no food, no water from dawn to dusk to gain God’s blessings, we are encouraged to double the amount of kindness, compassion, helpfulness and care in this blessed month.

The actions of this murderer who destroyed the lives of so many individuals in Orlando, did not represent Islam or Muslims. This was sick minded, violent person who was not religious in the slightest according to his family. As we now know through FBI investigations, that the motive of this hateful crime was not religious but rather personal.

Crime does not have a religion and certainly one person’s crime does not represent the whole community. Those who commit violent crimes in the name of religion, do so for their own personal motives and for their own justification.

God says in the Holy Quran, in Chapter 5, verse 32: “Whoever kills an innocent person unjustly, it is as if he has killed the whole of humankind and whoever saves a life of one innocent person is as if he has saved the lives of all of humanity.”- In Islam- to kill one innocent human being is equivalent to the sin of killing the entire humanity. No Muslim, would ever want to have that burden on him or her.

Rather, a Muslim, who wants to gain God’s blessings will do so by caring, maintaining, growing, showing compassion towards all of God’s creations.

My Brothers and sisters, Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, compassion and kindness. And I pray, together, we can fight terrorism and hatred by spreading the message of peace.

Imam Sami Abdul Aziz statement:
Peace be Upon you
Chapter 113 – The People form the Quran
1 Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Sustainer of the people,
2 the King of the people,
3 the God of the people,
4 from the mischief of every sneaking whisperer,
5 who whispers into the hearts of people,
6 from devils and men.’

On behalf of the American Muslim community, we, want to extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the barbaric assault that occurred this past Sunday at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida. We unequivocally say that such an act of hate-fueled violence has no place in any faith, including Islam. As people of faith, we believe that all human beings have the right to safety and security and that each and every human life is inviolable.

It is a very sad day when a person of my faith believes our religion advocates violence against peaceful individuals. Going a step further he violates the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed bringing peace to hearts. Islam must be learned from Scholars & Imams of the religion. Not through the internet. As this investigation unfolded we found Omar Mateen to be a loner seeking meaning in life and finding it through websites. A person with a deep identity crisis of being from Afghan heritage, Muslim, brown skinned, and Gay. The answer to this type of darkness is the light that comes from hiring Imams, Chaplains, Scholars and by providing vouchers for religious schools which ground students in their religious and civic identity. It is a major crime and sin to harm the people of our country. They are our neighbors, friends, family members, employers, and colleagues. Harming them is corruption, a clear sign of no faith, ignorance and misguidance. God help us in our time of ignorance and save us from those who claim religion but have hearts of wolves. “The true believer is one who all people are saved, from his hand and words.” This Prophetic tradition is enough if we follow it. The Qur’an states that taking of one life is like taking the life of all of humanity. This past sunday we as human beings experienced that traumatic loss 50 times over. Everyday in this country we experience that loss through violence. Everyday the world over we experience that loss every minute through wars and other acts of barbarity. May God bring healing to our broken world. Ameen-Amen

There are extremists in America and abroad who view the world through a Manichean lens: American Manicheans want Americans to see themselves as entirely “good” and all Muslims as entirely “evil.” Muslim Manicheans want Muslims to see themselves as entirely “good” and all Americans as entirely “evil.” This is a catastrophic recipe for unrelenting violence, and it must be rejected: We will not allow the extremists to define us, mold us in their benighted image, or sow the seeds of discord among us. We are one people, so let us all in good conscience and human solidarity reject this extremist narrative and assert our shared humanity and mutual respect for the sanctity of all human life. May God bring healing to our broken world. Ameen-Amen

Pictures:

Link to Unitarian website event page: http://uuse.org/vigil-for-orlando/#.V2LOQ7srKCi