Lake County Muslims pray for Gaza peace
Khalid Mekki says he can't do much for his family living 6,190 miles away in the heart of a besieged Gaza Strip except pray, write letters to politicians and attend peace rallies urging for an end to Israeli attacks on his former homeland.
The Hainesville resident says with every phone call he fears for the lives of his parents, brothers and sisters who are under threat of bombardment every day.
"I am really scared here to hear the news," Mekki said after Isha prayer Wednesday night at Islamic Foundation North's mosque in Libertyville. "I left Palestine in 1997. Whatever they are facing right now is totally different than any experience I have ever been in."
Several dozen Lake County area Muslims came together Wednesday night in Libertyville to show solidarity with the Palestinian people through a prayer vigil urging peace in Gaza.
"Whenever there is a crisis in the world, it affects everybody, especially when you have innocent people involved," said Vaseem Iftekhar, Islamic Foundation North president. "Today is a very sad day for all of us. For the last couple of weeks we have all been very saddened by what is happening in Gaza. We totally condemn and deplore the loss of civilian life in Gaza. It has to stop."
The Libertyville mosque also has been collecting aid for the victims of violence in Gaza.
Mekki said one of his sisters had to evacuate her home because her neighborhood was being targeted in the Israeli offensive against Hamas, the ruling Palestinian government.
Despite their plight, Mekki said his family remains strong.
"They don't wait for help," he said. "They just accept their life. They are very patient."
Yet, patience is running out in the international community as leaders and public opinion across the world pressures both sides for an end to the Gaza violence.
Following 12 days of deadly fighting, Israeli attacks on Gaza continued Wednesday after a three-hour pause to allow food and fuel to reach besieged Palestinians. Israel said it welcomed a cease-fire proposal as long as Hamas halts rocket attacks and weapons smuggling, according to media reports.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is growing and should not be ignored, said Ibrahim Mohammed of Mundelein, one of the prayer leaders at the Libertyville mosque.
"The reality is the agony that we have been witnessing, the slow and deliberate genocide that we have witnessed today has always been present in the land of Palestine since 1967," he said.
Mohammed admonished Israel for breaking a 6-month cease-fire with its Gaza offensive in retaliation to rockets fired by Hamas into Israel, and the mounting Palestinian civilian casualties as a result of the Gaza attacks.
He urged American Muslims to contact their politicians and voice their concerns about the crisis in Gaza.