We, the Civic Engagement Committee at the Islamic Center of Rochester, would like to publicly reject the anti-Sharia rallies taking place in Upstate New York and all over the country. These demonstrations, organized by longtime neo-Nazi Billy Roper and ACT for America, the largest anti-Muslim group in the country and a designated hate group (according to the Southern Poverty Law Center), aren’t occurring in a vacuum. Anti-Muslim sentiment is being fed by inflammatory statements and policy prescriptions coming all the way up from the presidency, most notoriously through the failed Muslim ban.
The constitution protects the rights of people of all faiths to practice their religion. This is a core American value that cannot be compromised. Hostility and intimidation toward people of different faiths, which is what these rallies aim to express, chip away at the values we strive to defend as Americans and make our communities less safe.
Hate and violence against minority communities, including an increase in surveillance and profiling of Muslims and all people of color, the detention and deportation of immigrants, the school to prison pipeline and prison industrial complex, as well as other modes of systemic oppression, cannot be normalized.
We must continue to support initiatives led by members of these marginalized communities so that we can unite and form sustainable movements founded on principles of justice and equality. We can only be safe, if all of us are safe.
We invite the Rochester community to connect with the Islamic Center of Rochester. This is the month of Ramadan, a time for Muslims all over the world to focus on charity and good deeds, to empathize with those who do not get to eat three meals a day, to share food with our neighbors and friends, and work together to make the world a more just and peaceful place. All are welcome.
