The dust has barely settled on Muhammad Ali’s grave. It has hardly been a day since the whole world was heaping praise on one of the greatest Americans of our time. It was only a short time when the noble example of one Muslim united the whole America. And now, we have this. A young pro-ISIS Muslim walks into a club in Orlando and murders over 50 people claiming to do so in the name of Islam. This is a tragedy of untold proportion.

MAPS stands with all of our fellow Americans, including the many Muslim organizations and mosques across the country, to express its deepest sadness and condemnation of the horrific massacre and senseless act of mass murder perpetrated against innocent civilians in Orlando, Florida. This wanton act of violence shocks the human conscience and causes us deep pain and consternation. Our hearts are with the victims of this terrible tragedy and we pray for a quick recovery for those injured. We need to understand that an assault on the rights on any minority group, including the LGBT group, is an assault on the rights of any other minority group, including Muslims. LGBT groups have been at the forefront of fighting bigotry and intolerance and have long stood with the Muslim community in opposing discrimination and prejudice. We express our deepest feelings of sympathy to the friends and families of the victims of this massacre.

I have repeatedly said that groups like ISIS and those who are influenced by them “are not us and we are not them. Their interpretation of Islam is twisted and wrong no matter how much they justify it.” And borrowing from an eminent fourteenth century Islamic scholar and jurist, “thus, any ruling that replaces justice with injustice, mercy with cruelty, common good with intolerance, or wisdom with ignorance, is a ruling that does not belong to Islam.” I have repeated this statement time and again in my addresses and emails to the community. Let me make it clear once more in unequivocal terms: the ideology of groups like ISIS is ignorant, wrong, destructive, twisted, sinful, murderous and has absolutely no place whatsoever in Islam! Our position on this is unconditional, categorical and absolute!

We pray for the day when love overpowers hatred and when each human life is valued and protected. We pray for a day when the world will be rid of terror and groups like ISIS. And we pray for a day when people think of Islam they think of the example of Muhammad Ali.

Here is what you can do:

1. Donate blood: CAIR-FL has asked the Muslim community to take part in a blood donation drive [link]

2. Familiarize yourself: SoundVision has issued certain talking points and thinking points [link]

2. Attend the vigil in Seattle tonight in solidarity with the victims [link]

Ameen

Mahmood Khadeer

MAPS President