Faith leaders speak out against slayings of Muslims in NC

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - It didn't matter that they were Muslim, Jewish, Christian or any other faith.

It didn't matter that they were men, women, young or old.

What mattered to those gathered Tuesday evening at the Universal Education Foundation was love.

Love for those of all faiths, and love especially for three lives taken by violence one week ago Tuesday.

"Hate will only lead to more hate," Gohar Salam, president of the UEF, said before Tuesday's vigil for three young Muslims gunned down in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Whether the killings of Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, stemmed from prejudice or a disagreement over a parking space, religious leaders from all faiths in Fort Wayne wanted to make it known that intolerance and hatred have no place in this world.

"We are as much a part of the mosaic of society as anyone else," Salam said of the followers of Islam.

The Journal Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/1CIDZWG ) that Ahmed Abdelmageed, board member of Muslim Alliance of Indiana and at the UEF, said Barakat and the Mohammad sisters are now three more people on the long list of those who have been killed as a result of hate or intolerance.

Though separated by miles, Abdelmageed, Salam and others wanted to stand in solidarity with those grieving in North Carolina.

"We reached out, and the response has been overwhelming," he said of a statement signed by 20-some religious leaders in Fort Wayne whose faiths span the gamut of beliefs.

The Rev. Terry Anderson, executive director of the Just Neighbors Interfaith Homeless Network, said it was imperative to create a climate of care.

"Where understanding is stronger than ignorance, where hope is stronger than despair, where love is stronger than hate," he said.

At the UEF, which strives to educate young Muslims in the community about their faith, their work will continue and their hope for more understanding and compassion will forge onward.

"If we do not show our true face, then people start seeing these other labels," Salam said.

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Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net