Originally Posted on The Huffington Post
I was attending a LIVE online conference this morning when a friend’s email instantly brought tears to my eyes. He broke the news of the tragic shooting at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee. I was racked with pain. My first reaction was to pray to God to ease the suffering of those directly affected by the tragedy and then to contact my friends at the Sikh coalition extending my condolences and offering my support.
Within minutes of the tragedy, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community issued a press release condemning the sad incident. MPAC, World Muslim Congress and other Muslim groups also condemned the incident in no time. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA also hosted a prayer vigil in Milwaukee to honor the innocent victims of the temple shooting later in the evening.
Islam teaches that all life is sacred. It urges us to inculcate the values of sympathy and love for humanity. The least we can do is reach out to our local Sikh community to express condolence and show our support. Dear Sikh friends, may God be with you and help you bear this tragedy with patience and prayer. I assure you that your tragedy is ours too and your tears pain our hearts equally.
— Kashif N. Chaudhry (@KashifMD)
well said and may God give them strength
I feel saddened, and writing to share the grief over the brutal wisconsin shooting.
Thank you for sharing your feelings. Truly a sad incident.
I am so very sorry for these kind soul who have been torn apart. I believe in Jesus and I also respect everyone else views. I can only say how sorry I am for these poor people and how can I even begin to ask you not to have hatred for all white people or Americans but I do ask that. This man was filled with self hatred and demons and that is what it was. Pure evil and I can not even begin to imagine what you are feeling. I am just so very very so very sorry. This is so evil and so just so sad. From my soul I am so sorry for each of you.
Melissa – Rest assured no one with any shred of dignity or common sense would “have hatred for white people” i.e. hate a person because of their skin color. As Muslims, we believe in the equality of mankind and the beauty of mankind’s diversity. You mentioned you believe in Jesus. We love and adore Jesus Christ more than we love our own parents. So how could we not also have love for Christians? We are only against bigotry, hatred, violence, and persecution. Do not feel sorry for us, for God is with us. But instead feel sorry for the terrorist who ruined his life and more importantly, the lives of so many others. We should be grateful that God has given us the opportunity to connect with each other for the common cause of serving humanity, and His Glory. God be with you. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
I would also like to add that what I do not like and never condone is for any of us on this earth to judge one another nor especially a very personal choice of religion or belief in god. It is absolutely not my place to decide who should worship who and nor is it anyone else. I personally believe in my father in heaven, Jesus, and I would be so afraid to judge anyone elses’ religion or choice of worship. I feel so afraid of judging others because I am only another human and I will never as long as I live judge someone else. I have enough worries myself in seeing that I not mess up each day in displeasing God. Although I may not have the same faith as a Muslim believer, I have so much respect for every Muslim I have ever encountered. People are people to me. I o not see black nor white. I see us as one. I am so sick of seeing evil pure evil walk into places and begin killing people. Little 7 year old Jorelys Rivera in Canton Ga was slaughter Dec 2011 and I went to her vigil and I saw her. I will never as long as I live get over that little angel. I beg for my father in heaven to be with your families and what else can I do? I grew up in a very rural racially divided small town in southern Ga. I knew from a very early age that the evil lies about black people were just that and I was condemn often for being “different”; that is, electing not to be mean to a black person nor see them as black and I as white but us as people. I thank my father in heaven that I love everyone on this earth and even those who are the most evil. They are evil and demonic and I feel sorry that someone can have so much hatred in their soul to hate another person. I can not even hate evil doers but what they do, much less hate another person. I want to cry when I see a dead cat in the road or dog. Life is precious. This will make me more determine to be kinder to others and show my father in heaven that I will continue to try to be the best woman I can while here. That is all I can say. To even ask of you not to just wake up hating all white people or Americans is too much but I pray that you do not allow this kin of unspeakable evil to cause you that hatred. Then evil has won. I just am so sorry and my god there are no words. I hate watching the news and when I looked online couple moths back it was the man who ate the other mans face in Miami and then the man who threw his intestines at the police and then the man who ate his room mates brain and heart and last week then the batman movie man who sot those people and now this. If anyone questions the reality there is a devil, I think this year has proven there is. I can only say growing up where we had seperate black and white proms until I called CNN in 2006 and then 2007 finally they had their first combined prom, I can say that people choose to hate nonetheless. I used to get a beating so bad for playing my my first grade friend Eddie. Edie was black and I am white. I only saw Eddie. It hurt me the way black people were mistreated so. I would cry. My father, I love him and I pray he will be excused and enter into heaven, he is my father and I love my father but I hated the way he was. Later in life, I would learn what happened which I believe caused so much hatred in his heart and I think he took it out on others. I made a very conscious choice real young as early as I can recall to not be that way. I would cry when I would be on our school bus and before the black kids would get on our bus driver, Mr. Carter, would just yell “N..N..getting on” and we would all have to move to the back. Then, after they got on, all the older white kids would taunt them and throw paper and just cruel. I remember sitting there and tears just come up. It broke my heart into a million pieces. I remember defying the order more than once and not moving and I was only like 5 or 6 years old. I then dreaded that phone call and later that evening I was called into the den and I would get the belt and asked who did I think I was. I could tell you story after story. I have a deep love for people and the only solution to our worlds problems is love. Love is the only way. I have been in situations which pissed me off. One day, a woman was next to me in a store and she and another woman, both white, were looking at a magazine and one said “Vanessa Williams is pretty FOR A BLACK WOMAN”…I called them crackers! But later, I knew in my heart that I was only continuing that evil that it was that cycle. They were so prejudiced and didnt even see it. I just thank God that he somehow and for whatever reason did make me “different”. I am for the HUMAN RACE. I will leave this world being “DIFFERENT” and I am so grateful I am. I see justice and injustice and BOY DO I DESPISE INJUSTICE! I am for the poor and the suffering and I am for those who are mistreated. If I were financially wealthy I would create a place and use my money to transform lives. I am so very sorry for your loss. I am sickened by this. I am sicken most of all because all these poor souls were doing were worshiping and bothering no one and helping others and EVERY WHITE BLACK LATINO ASIAN INDIAN EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD EXTEND THERE CONDOLENCES TO THESE SOULS FOR THIS EVIL AND SHOULD BE OUTRAGED! That is all I can speak. Whatever I have typed is perhaps way to lengthy and I did not mean to do so but for what this demon did tomorrow i am going to find a temple and take a dozen white roses. I have to work but IF I CAN NOT find one tomorrow as soon as I can I am going to find one near me. I live in sandy springs and I will look online and find one and I am going to bring them some white roses and that is all I can do. I am so sickened and so sad I am just crying. I am so sad to these poor people and god their families but know this…I believe in a hereafter and they are not suffering. If I believe in Jesus who am I to speak against your faith and vice verse? LET PEOPLE BE! To me, what is most important HOW WE TREAT ONE ANOTHER!!!! i passed a lady on Pryor street a month or so ago and people of all walks of life were saying cruel things to her “get a job” “she smells” and I WALKED BY THIS LADY AND my father in heaven would not allow me to take many steps forward. I mean, my steps got harder and harder …heavier and then I asked Jesus to please forgive me for almost walking away. So, I turned around and I went back and I addressed her with great respect and I asked, Mam, I apologize for these hipocrits and I ask that you please accept this from my heart and because they dont know what they do… they just looked at me and I had tears of shame coming down my face but it felt good to follow my heart and my soul. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO A PERSON WHICH HAS LED THEM TO THAT CORNER ON THE STREET AND YOU VERY WELL COULD BE WALKING IN THEIR SHOES. I HAVE MORE RESPECT FAAAARRRRR DEEEEEPPPPPPPEEEERRRRR RESPECT FOR THAT WOMAN THAN I DO FOR ALL THOSE SNOBBISH HIPOCRITS WHO NOT ONLY SHUNNED HER BUT WERE EVER SO CRUEL AND PROVOKED HER!!! How can any of us be so cruel? So I am doing it again and I will close this now but this week as soon as I can, I shall HUMILITY bring a dozen of white roses to my nearest temple and I just can only do this. I ask that anyone who read this nomatter who you are to please do something kind for someone because of this evil. This is really hurting. We seems to be so comfortable in our little bubble worlds where everything goes well FOR OUR FAMILIES but just think of all the ones who are suffering tonight and please do not DISMISS IT BY SAYING THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO OR IT IS THEIR PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS ALL OF OUR PROBLEM AND YOU CAN DO SOMETHING BY SHOWING KINDNESS TO SOMEONE ELSE AND EVERYONE FOR THAT MATTER FROM THIS DAY FORWARD. And, you can also FORGIVE and not tit for tat. I see people cursing one another in traffic and just is it so sad. I wonder if they ever wonder how they are going to face God when all is said and done because our common denominator is that we are born naked and we leave naked our souls naked before our creator and then we are judged. I believe that with all my soul. My heart is heavy SO HEAVY FOR THESE POOR SOULS TONIGHT AND I FEEL SELFISH IN MY LITTLE BUBBLE WORLD. My children are healthy and here. I am as well. We have food to eat. We have shelter. We have clothes. WE HAVE LOVE AND EACH OTHER. This families have been ripped apart. That bothers my hear something heavy. I am not going to sleep well at all tonight. I am Melissa. I am white. I am American. I am a woman. I am a christian. I love each of my brothers and sisters and even those who are mean to me. I am ‘DIFFERENT”.