Statement on the May 18 Shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego

Life is precious. Life is sacred. Every human being holds within them the seed of tremendous potential. Our various faiths agree on this. And yet, again we are grieving the lives cut short by what, by all appearances, is a religiously-motivated hate crime. On Monday morning, at the Islamic Center of San Diego, a place where children and adults learned, prayed, and grew in their faith together, a horrible act of violence took place. Our hearts are saddened and our sympathies and prayers go out to the families who have lost their loved ones and to the Islamic ummah as a whole. How painful it is to have to deal with the prejudice that fuels this kind of act in a hundred forms, small and large, every day. 
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If we want to see a change, we must each take action. We, the Eden Area Interfaith Council, call on all people of good will to strive to educate themselves about the core beliefs of Islam, to engage in conversation with their neighbors of different faiths, and to nurture compassion and understanding in our hearts. No one person can represent an entire complex multi-faceted faith, but each person we meet can only draw us closer together in that network of mutuality that is the human race. 

We know that standing together, we have, and will continue to make a difference. 

     Yours in Peace and Love,
       The Eden Area Interfaith Council Board of Directors