Interfaith gathering at Modesto mosque responds to New Zealand terror with hope

Believers from other faiths joined the Islamic Center of Modesto on Monday night in decrying last week’s shootings at two mosques in New Zealand.

More than 350 people overflowed the Carpenter Road mosque three days after an alleged white supremacist killed 50 people and wounded 50 more in Christchurch. Elected officials joined with faith leaders in speaking out against such acts.

“This really brings joy, but at the same time it brings tears to my heart,” said Amin Vohra Khushali, an Islamic Center board member. “Why do we wait for circumstances such as this to gather in an Islamic mosque, or a synagogue, or a church?”

Stanislaus County has a relatively small Islamic community, but it has made a notable mark with the recent completion of a mosque much larger than its predecessor.

Non-Muslim guests could enter Monday without taking off their shoes, but some did so anyway in a nod to this practice. Several women among them paid their respects by donning head scarves.

The event drew people of Christian, Sikh, Jewish and other faiths, along with public officials who noted that the county celebrates its diversity.

“What happened last Friday was an attack on all of us that stand for peace,” said Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock. “There’s something particularly heart-breaking about a tragedy that occurs in a place of worship, that’s intended to be a place to search for peace.”

The gathering was similar to one last October at Congregation Beth Shalom, home to Modesto’s Jewish community, following a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagouge. It featured Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths standing against anti-Semitism.

Monday night, CBS Rabbi Shalom Bochner returned the favor by speaking in a mosque.

“As I’m taught is said in the Muslim tradition, we come from God, and to God we return,” he said. “These horrible attacks were attacks on all of us, all civilized people, particularly those with a long history of experiencing disrespect through Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, anti-immigrant rhetoric, anti-Semitism, just plain hate.”

This story was originally published March 18, 2019 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Interfaith gathering at Modesto mosque responds to New Zealand terror with hope."