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Police Feature Prominently at Friday Prayers
By Ali Asadullah
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept 14 (IslamOnline) - Patrol cars and uniformed officers from the city of Santa Clara were in prominent view at Friday
Jummah prayers at the Muslim Community Association of the San Francisco Bay Area (MCA).
Citing concern for overall community safety in the wake of numerous attacks against Muslim establishments and persons across the nation over the past three days, MCA's leadership deemed it prudent to turn to local police as a precautionary measure to protect the some 2500 worshipers that regularly attend Friday services.
Though numbers were slightly smaller than usual Friday, most MCA members were not deterred, and in his
khutbah, or sermon, Hisham Abdallah gave the congregation reason to be hopeful in the face of the current challenges: "As Muslims, we are an integral part of this community. We are here to stay and we are here to build a better America."
With local news cameras rolling, Abdallah also quoted the Qur'an, reminding worshipers of the enormity of taking an innocent life.
"Whosoever kills a single human soul - unjustifiably, unlawfully - it is as if he killed the whole [of] humanity," said Abdallah. "And whosoever saves a human life, it is as if he saved the whole [of] humanity. This is how Islam holds the sanctity of human life in such a high esteem."
At one point, choking back tears, Abdallah noted that possibly more than 1000 Muslims lost their lives in Tuesday's tragedy. And in an extremely heartfelt moment, he revealed to the congregation that, "We also know that in that building [the World Trade Center], the Salaatul Jummah, like this was being held every Friday. This is how bad and ugly this crime was." The moment was not lost on worshipers, as muffled sighs could be heard throughout the mosque.
At the conclusion of the prayer, a city of Santa Clara police officer reassured the congregation that fear need not prevail in the Muslim community.
"Do not be victims of hatred. Do not be victims of violence," said the officer. "The Santa Clara Police Department is here to encourage you to report any form of hate crime. We want to work together with you to insure your safety."
In attendance Friday were a number of local and national Muslim community leaders, including Youssef al-Youssef of American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice
(www.global-peace.org). Speaking to IslamOnline, Al-Youssef expressed optimism over the level of cooperation amongst Muslim organizations during this crisis.
Said Al-Youssef: "[We] really feel the dynamics of cooperation. This is the time when the barriers between all organizations just fall."
According to Al-Youssef, Global Peace in specific is taking proactive steps to help mitigate anti-Muslim backlash and help raise awareness about Islam in general.
"One of the things we are trying to and are doing is trying to bring the community members together, the community leadership together ... to plan on how to deal and how to cope with the situation," said Al-Youssef.
"We're holding meetings with media outlets. We're holding meetings with churches, with synagogues, and we are speaking with all available outlets to make people understand and realize that these perpetrators have really nothing to do with the Muslim community."
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