As’salaam Alaykum / Peace be upon you:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote these words in 1963 when he was confined in the Birmingham, Alabama jail. On this day when we observe his legacy, when we reflect on his prescient wisdom, when we measure our own commitments to peace and justice against the lessons of his life, we at MAPS lament how distant we remain from his noble vision expressed nearly 60 years ago. In many parts of the country and the world, we remain divided, unmoved by the injustices inflicted upon our fellow human beings. We remain blind to the fact that we will only be safe, just and free if and when we are all safe, just and free.
We were harshly reminded of this reality over the weekend. On Saturday, a man visited Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. He was welcome by the rabbi there, and then, during prayers, he drew a gun and took several members of the congregation hostage. This is a nightmare scenario that keeps leaders of religious organizations awake at night. We are heartbroken that our Jewish siblings in Colleyville had to endure such a terrifying and painful ordeal (with impact on the broader Jewish community — and on all of us), and we strongly condemn the actions of the gunman and the antisemitism that motivated his targeting of a synagogue. His horrifying behavior was condemned by local, national and international Muslim organizations and leaders, among others. We are grateful that our prayers were answered and that the members of Congregation Beth Israel are safe and the hostage situation ended.
Congregation Beth Israel and its Rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker, are well-known in the interfaith community in Texas. The Rabbi and his family have been friends with and have worked side by side with local Muslims and others in the area for the past 20 years. It is through such interfaith work, through continued relationship-building, and through self-reflection and commitment to change that we can realize MLK’s vision. This includes challenging and working to address racism or antisemitism or other forms of hate and bigotry wherever we find them, including in our midst (Quran 4:135). This also includes recognizing the challenges associated with mental health and making help accessible to those in need. Let us all aspire to, pray for, and act to create a world where Dr. King’s vision is a reality, when any and all of our houses of worship are safe, when race or religion or other background factors are not used to perpetuate hate or violence, and when justice prevails all over the world.
May the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continue to inspire us, today and every day, to make the necessary change within ourselves, our communities, and our country. Amen.
Hyder Ali
MAPS President