Muslim civil rights groups and scholars have expressed solidarity with the Jewish community in San Diego and nationwide following a deadly shooting at a synagogue in Poway, north of the city of San Diego.
“We condemn this disturbing and despicable attack on our neighbors at a house of worship, offer our heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of those killed or injured, and express our solidarity with the Jewish community during this time of shock and grief,” said Dustin Craun, the presidents of the San Diego branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in a statement online.
“We renew our commitment to work together against this disturbing trend of attacks on houses of worship, which should be sanctuaries for worshippers.”
Early news reports mention that one person has died and three people are injured in an apparent hate crime at the Congregation Chabad synagogue in Poway, Calif.
Saturday was the last day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, known in Jewish tradition as the “Festival of Freedom.”
Imam Omar Suleiman also shared a message of solidarity on his Facebook page.
“Exhausted. Praying. Wish this wasn’t the new normal. #SanDiego,” Suleiman wrote.
The attack on San Diego synagogue came only a few hours after an army officer ran off his car into a crowd believing they were Muslims.
Both attacks were lamented by Dr. Yasir Qhadi on Facebook.
“On one side of California, an army officer runs his car into a crowd, on his way to Bible class, believing that he is killing Muslims in Jesus’ name. And on the other side, a man charges into a Synagogue with a gun, shooting the inhabitants and injuring many worshippers, including the Rabbi,” he wrote.
“Unless all of us – Muslims, Christians, Jews, people of faith, people of no faith – come together to stop this madness, all of us will collectively suffer.”
The officer who attacked the synagogue is the same man who tried to burn down a mosque a few weeks ago.
“Wow. The terrorist who shot up the synagogue in #SanDiego is the same man who tried to burn down a mosque a few weeks ago in tribute to the terrorist attack in #Christchurch. These people connect the dots for us,” imam Suleiman wrote.
Secretary-General of The Muslim Council of Britain also commented on the San Diego shooting.
“Expressing my solidarity to the Jewish community after the shooting in San Diego. A worrying week of hate, from Sri Lanka attacks on Christians to the attempted murder of Muslims in California earlier this week,” he wrote on Sunday.
Expressing my solidarity to the Jewish community after the shooting in San Diego. A worrying week of hate, from Sri Lanka attacks on Christians to the attempted murder of Muslims in California earlier this week.
— Harun Khan FRSA (@harakha) April 28, 2019