HoCo Faith Leaders Address Islamophobia

ELLICOTT CITY, MD—When President Barack Obama addressed the American people Sunday night about the government’s response to the San Bernadino shootings, he gave clear direction to U.S. citizens.

“We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam,” Obama said. “ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers, part of a cult of death, and they account for a tiny fraction of more than a billion Muslims around the world...”

Yet some in Howard County say that the Muslim community is feeling the backlash after a radicalized couple killed 14 people in the Dec. 2 shooting rampage in San Bernardino, Calif.

Muslim women in Ellicott City have expressed fear about wearing their traditional head coverings, Mahmoud Abdel Hadi, imam at Maryum Islamic Center in Ellicott City, told The Baltimore Sun.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia’s Rev. Paige Getty told ABC 2 News: “...anti-Muslim sentiment feels much more intense now than it did after 9/11.”

Over the weekend, Howard County faith leaders convened to address the issue at a forum The Baltimore Sun reports was organized weeks before the California shootings, and attended by more than 100 people.

Rev. Gerry Bowen of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Columbia spoke at the outset of the forum, stating the idea was to reverse the “narrative of fear” gripping the nation.

Bowen is one of the founders of PATH (People Acting Together in Howard), which convened Saturday’s gathering at the Islamic center in Ellicott City.

“Some people would say we live in a season of terror,” Bowen said.

On the contrary, “...this is a season of hope,” he said, and a time to honor the vision of God by doing unto others what people would like have done unto them. “We’ll do it by conversation, by getting to know each other, by standing up for our sisters and brothers and saying we are not afraid and we are honored to have you in our community,” Bowen said.

In addition to Saturday’s gathering, faith leaders attended a vigil on Friday to remember the victims in the California shootings.

The vigil in Silver Spring called for bringing together those of all faiths against gun violence. The leaders of the Howard County Muslim Council were reportedly in attendance.

• Vigil Against Gun Violence Held at Silver Spring Mosque
• FBI Raids Home of San Bernardino Shooter’s Friend
• ISIS Calls San Bernadino Shooters ‘Supporters’