Dec. 13, 2015 | Pubic statement by American Muslims and friends

Dec. 13, 2015 | Pubic statement by American Muslims and friends

We stand against attempts to subvert our common humanity in the name of religion, politics, nationalism or any other ideology

Nearly a year ago, on Dec 16, 2014, Taliban attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 144 schoolchildren and 10 teachers, and wounding countless others. This was one of the most brutal attacks in Pakistan where militants have killed some 50,000 civilians and 10,000 military personnel over the last decade. 

Those of us gathered here represent different faiths and political beliefs. We stand as one to remember those killed and to tell their families we haven’t forgotten - “The smallest coffins are the heaviest”.

We believe that the ideology behind the Peshawar school attack is the same that lies behind many other attacks that have claimed headlines around the world in recent years – in New York, London, Madrid, Mumbai, Bali, and most recently, Beirut, Paris and San Bernardino, to name a few.

The militants claim to act in the name of Islam, yet they kill innocents, including Muslim women and children, and Muslims who disagree with their violent ideology. They have killed more Muslims than non-Muslims in their quest for political power since 9/11.

We unequivocally condemn these senseless attacks committed in the name of religion, heinous crimes that go against all principles of humanity. Such barbarity has no place in the civilized world.

The motive behind these attacks, whether in Pakistan or Lebanon, Paris or America, is the same: to terrorize innocents and create chaos. Militants feed on the fear and divisions in a community in order to push their hate narrative and further polarize society. 

We refuse to allow that to happen. We stand against attempts to subvert our common humanity in the name of religion, politics, nationalism or any other ideology. 

We reject the radicalization of Islam or any other religion. The cancer of extremism has to be eradicated. 

We stand united against the forces that are trying to hijack Islam, a religion that 1.4 billion Muslims peacefully follow. 

We assert that religion is a personal matter and no one has the right to impose their version upon anyone else. 

We stand against the use of religion for political agendas. 

We condemn and reject the radicalization of political thought in America and elsewhere. Violent and extremist political rhetoric leads to violent and extreme actions. It de-humanizes a community and encourages some to feel justified in attacking ‘the other’.  

We saw this in Europe when the Fascists targeted Jews and Gypsies. We saw Americans of Japanese heritage being targeted and interned during WWII. We saw the “communist” witch-hunt of the 1950s. The origin of the term witch hunt itself stems from the persecution of alleged witches, burnt at the stake in the name of religion. 

History is replete with such examples. Today the target is Muslims. Countless individuals have been attacked, intimidated and threatened in public places just for being or ‘looking like’ Muslims.

We stand with those who refuse to allow this witch-hunt mentality to prevail today. It is out of place in our value system. It violates the Constitution that ensures freedom, liberty and justice for all. We reject rhetoric in the name of religion or politics that polarizes communities, making them weak from within.

 

Shared at public demonstrations on Sunday, Dec 13, 2015 in Providence, RI, and Boston, MA