After Texas church shooting: ‘Let’s defend all houses of worship’
These Ahmadiyya Muslim Americans are hurting over the recent church shooting in Sutherland, Texas, that stole too many sacred lives. We’ll not only pray for our terrorized compatriots and fellow believers in God but do everything in our power to defend all houses of prayer as required in Islam.
The Holy Quran teaches “if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down Cloisters and Churches and Synagogues and Mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated. And Allah will surely help one who helps Him” (22:41).
In fact, Prophet Muhammad made the following covenant with Saint Catherine’s Monastery of Mount Sinai; “Whenever and wherever Christians pray we will protect them…their Churches must be honored…It is incumbent upon every follower of Islam not to disobey this oath until Resurrection Day.”
We are with you. May God be with you our Christian siblings. May we wake up to justice and curbing radicalization in every guise, starting domestically.
While wealth will always take precedence over lives to a powerful few, at least we, the people, can help prevent the divide and slaughter of our own through education, winning hearts with love, and leading by example.
We’ll increase our regular visits to churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship as well as hosting visits from them at our Ahmadiyya Baitul Aman House of Peace Mosque in Meriden. Let’s get together.
Syeda Sana Shah is a member of the women’s auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community CT Baitul Aman House of Peace Mosque Meriden and Zahir serves as its Outreach and Quran Education Director. Zahir Muhammad Mannan is a chaplain at the Meriden Police Department and hosts weekly dialogues over coffee and cake Friday nights at 8 p.m. in his mosque.
