To the Editor:
“... whosoever killed a person ... it shall be as if he had killed all mankind;” Quran 5:33. When I heard of the shooting that took place at the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City, I was saddened by the state of our people. As a Muslim, it felt as if members of my own community had been violently snatched from this Earth. The fact that this is blatant racism and prejudice sickens me. The fact that people are willing to go as far as murder and take innocent lives to perpetuate racism and prejudice is frightening. As an American Muslim, I am shocked and saddened by the anti-Semitic violence that has occurred as I too share much love and respect for the Israelite prophets.
In the Holy Qur'an, God states “Say, ‘We believe in … that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes, and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and other Prophets from their Lord’” (3:85). I wish to extend my hand and offer my deepest condolences to the Jewish community. This is not humanity and no one deserves to suffer like this just because of their beliefs. I pray that we are all protected and remain unified in brotherhood in spite of those that may try to divide us as a community. God bless.
Saira Bhatti
Centreville