President Message

Asalaam Alaikum / Peace be upon you all:

In response to the Islamophobic attacks and massacre in New Zealand, the MAPS community has been grieving the loss of now 50 human beings who were killed in worship and many more who were injured.  May Allah (God) grant those who were killed the highest places of Paradise.  We also have been working on ensuring the safety and security of all who come to MAPS through heightened security measures during Jummah (Friday) prayers and beyond.  Through all of this, we have received incredible support from elected officials, law enforcement, faith leaders, advocacy groups, and community members.  The strong showing of solidarity reaffirms how blessed we are to live as part of a beloved community, and proves that love is stronger than hate and faith is greater than fear.

While the messages, letters, statements, flowers, cards and people showing up in person are too much to be able to include in a message, we did want to highlight some of them:

• A message of support for the Muslim community from Governor Jay Inslee that was shared at Friday prayers;
• Personal visits to MAPS by Redmond Mayor John Marchione, Redmond Police Chief Kristi Wilson, and Councilmember Steve Fields, among many other individual community members who showed up with flowers, cards, and their support;
• Phone calls from the FBI and US Attorney’s office;
• A personal voicemail message for the Muslim community from Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan;
• Faith leaders and community members including Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg, Pastor Terry Kyllo and Cindy Pestka showing up spontaneously on Friday to hold signs of support outside MAPS;
• Calls, emails, and/or letters of solidarity and support from numerous faith leaders and organizations including from the Faith Action Network (FAN), Church Council of Greater Seattle, Neighbors in Faith, Treacy Levine Center, Plymouth Church, Magnolia Presbyterian Church, Pacific NW UCC Conference, Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, WA State Catholic Conference, Seattle Archbishop Sartain, First Congregational Church, First Covenant Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Queen Anne United Methodist Church, St Louise de Marillac Catholic Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Bellevue Presbyterian Church, Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Burien Community Church, Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Redmond United Methodist Church, ELCA, Open Door Ministries, Kadima, Jewish Voice for Peace, Kol Ami, Temple Beth Am, Kol HaNeshemah, The Kavana Cooperative, Congregation Beth Shalom, Temple B’nai Torah, UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, Temple DeHirsch Sinai, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, ADL, Chobo-ji Zen Temple, and many others we may have missed in this list;
• Calls, emails, and/or letters from numerous community leaders and organizations including WA Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), Indivisible Washington, Indivisible Eastside, Seattle Indivisible, NWIRP, Eastside Refugee & Immigrant Coalition, Seattle Womxn Marching Forward, Kids 4 Peace, WA State Democrats, ACLU, WA Women Foundation, Para Los Ninos, OneAmerica, Social Justice Fund, Seattle Pacific University, World Without Hate, Lawyer Moms of America, Casa Latina, Rachel Corrie Foundation, Euphrates Institute Seattle, Three Practices Group, etc.
• Messages from the offices of other elected officials like Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and Rep. Tana Senn; the Issaquah City Council; and the Seattle Community Police Commission;
• And so much more!

We truly appreciate the love and solidarity from ALL during this time of trauma and tragedy.  God tells us that “Verily, with hardship comes ease; indeed, verily with hardship comes ease” (Quran 94:5-6).  These manifestations of kindness and support are the “ease” that come with the hardship, and they far outweigh the acts of hate and violence by certain individuals.  While we have not been able to thank everyone personally for the outpouring of support, please know we so appreciate it all and send prayers and solidarity back to you.

We also invite everyone to join us on Monday at 7pm at MAPS, for a Muslim community forum that will include an interfaith vigil and anti-Islamophobia teach-in.  This will be an opportunity to remember those who lost their lives and hear from faith voices, elected officials, impacted community members, and learn ways to address the roots of the problem (i.e, Islamophobia and xenophobia) and not just its symptoms (i.e., the New Zealand massacre).  Please register for this free solidarity event here.