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Interfaith Vigil Honors Chapel Hill Victims

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IONA participated in an interfaith vigil for the three young Muslim students, Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha, who were killed, execution style, in their apartment in Chapel Hill, NC, on February 10 in an apparent hate crime.
The vigil was organized by the national Take on Hate campaign, the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) and CAIR-MI. The DeRoy auditorium at Wayne State campus was almost full with students and community members.
Imam Almasmari from the Muslim Unity Center opened up the vigil with a recitation from the Holy Quran. Many leaders from the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Sikh community expressed their grief as they prayed for the victims and their families. The theme was mainly the need to organize and stand up against not just the wave of Islamophobia, but also injustices against blacks, Hispanics and all other minorities and immigrants.

Ameer Mustapha Elturk of IONA gave the concluding remarks and prayer. After expressing his sorrow and grief over what had happened to the young bright Muslim students at Chapel Hill, he shared a couple of verses from the Holy Quran that explain, “Good and evil are not equal. Repel evil with good, lest those whom you have enmity with become your intimate friend.” His message was clear, “If the ignorant people throw stones at you, you throw flowers back at them. If they spew hatred remarks at you, you say peace to them. We must be resilient. We must proud of our faith and where we came from.”

He urged Muslims and all people of conscience to stand in solidarity against hate and bigotry while sending a strong message to Fox News and other biased media outlets that “Islam is not terrorism.”
He urged his fellow Muslims to be patient and to endure these hardships as the Prophet (SAW) and the believers did when they were persecuted in Makkah simply because of their faith. “It’s a trial,” he reminded them. Imam Elturk concluded his remarks with a prayer asking God Almighty to reconcile and unite our hearts and to guide us towards the path of peace. He also prayed for the souls who have been victims of hate and bigotry to rest in peace.

From left to right: Rashida Tlaib, former State Representative, Attorney Haaris Ahmed, President of CAIR-MI, Rabbi Dorit Edut from Detroit, Trilochan Singh representing the Sikh community, Father George Shalhoub from the Basilica of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, Imam Syed Hassan Qazwini from the Islamic Center of America, Rev. Loren Scribner, from Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit (IFLC), and Nancy Thayer from Christian Science and IFLC.

IONA, 28630 Ryan Rd., Warren, MI 48092 | Tel: 586-558-6900 | E-mail: center@iononline.org
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IONA’s mission is to transform its members and help transform the surrounding communities to righteous, God-fearing people, who collectively strive for the highest moral standard and constantly seek forgiveness from our Creator to earn His pleasure. We seek His compassion and mercy in this life and in the hereafter. We rejuvenate our soul through internal struggle and spiritual exercise in worship of our creator God. The strength of our belief in God gives us the courage to establish good and forbid evil, thus promoting a system of justice for all mankind.