On the night of Friday November 13th, following the brutal attacks in Paris, an unknown individual fired shots at a mosque in Meriden, CT. The mosque belonged to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and our motto “Love for All, Hatred for None” is inscribed on a sign outside.
Luckily, no one was present and only the building sustained damage. It is nevertheless disturbing to hear of such a cowardly incident a little over an hour from Worcester. However, I was very pleased to understand that the local community there stood up and defended the mosque. This is remarkably in line with Islamic teachings that command every Muslim to defend any place of worship that is under threat.
When the Meccan army marched towards Medina, God gave Prophet Muhammad the permission to fight a defensive war stating that if the Muslims had not taken up arms, “there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft commemorated” (Quran 22:41).
Ijaz Ahmed, PhD
Worcester
