I am a Muslim, and I don’t hate Jews. This misconception doesn’t define me. This misconception doesn’t express the truth about me. I do not hate Jews. I’ll repeat once, twice and however long it takes for people to finally understand it – I don’t hate Jews.
On Saturday October 27th, a 46 year-old named Robert Bowers stormed into a Synagogue in Pittsburgh and fired shots. Bowers took eleven innocent lives. He killed people who thought they would have a peaceful morning at their place of worship, but their thoughts mislead them.
This was a disgusting act. There is nothing worse than attacking someone for what they believe in. There is nothing more awful for murdering someone just for the fact that they believe in a different God than you do.
Soon after the shooting, two Muslim organizations, Celebrate Mercy and MPower Change, raised nearly $200,000 to help victims and their families. The online funding was made to help shooting victims with funeral expenses and medical bills.
If this still doesn’t get rid of the misconception of all Muslims hating Jews, let me make myself even more clear.
I stand with Jews. I stand with the Jewish community against hate, bigotry and violence. I want the Jewish community to know that I, as a Muslim, love them. I am willing to fight for them and not against them. My back is their back.
It’s really devastating seeing a horrific murder committed in a place of worship like a synagogue, mosque, church or temple. These should be places of peace. These should be places where people feel secure.
After all the Mosque shootings that have occurred in the past, going to the Mosque every Friday scares me. I remember going once to the local Quad Cities Mosque and seeing a police car in the parking lot. When we asked the police officer what was going on, he said someone had threatened to bomb the Mosque.
My community is threatened as well. I want to reach out to the Jewish community to show solidarity and to acknowledge the fact that I feel what they feel. I feel the same terror that they are feeling.
I know that no Jew will ever feel the same way going to the Synagogue in America ever again. I know terror and fear will always haunt them – just like it haunts me.
I believe there is much more good in Americans than bad. I believe this incident will bring people together. It will allow people to stand together. As a start, I say to every Jew at Augustana, I reach out to you in inter-faith love.