We are disturbed and saddened to witness more senseless violence – the execution style killing of three Muslims in North Carolina. #MuslimLivesMatter. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these victims. We pray that God Almighty blesses their souls and admit them to heaven.
We cannot be silent in the face of violence. As Muslims we believe that the taking of one life is tantamount to taking all lives. The foundation of society is the protection of life. The primary objective of the rule of law is to protect life. How can we call ourselves a society – a “civilized” society when we do not sanctify life? School children are killed when attending school. #ChildrensLivesMatter. Black children are killed when wearing hoodies or while holding their arms up in surrender. #BlackLivesMatter. Shia Muslims are killed while praying in mosques. #ShiaLivesMatter. Iraqi families are killed while drones fly overhead. #IraqiLivesMatter. Jews are killed in a Kosher market shopping for the Sabbath. #JewishLivesMatter. In fact all lives matter –Christian lives, Hindu lives, American lives… We pray that God Almighty bless the souls of every human who has been killed innocently– whether we know their names or not. #AllLivesMatter
We are bombarded with images of violence real (news industry) and unreal (entertainment industry). Do we not care that each life matters? That each person deserves to live, dream and succeed.
If you save one life you have saved all lives. We must save lives — one life at a time. Our hearts cannot continue to be broken with the news that another life is lost. Let’s stand up together in prayer and in action to work for justice – so that these deaths were not in vain.
Atiya Aftab the co-founder of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom®