OnIslam.net

CAIRO - Standing hand in hand, hundreds of people of different faiths surrounded the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn in solidarity with the Muslim community against a planned anti-Islam protest by Qur’an-burning pastor on Friday, the Detroit Free Press reported on Friday, April 22.

"We've got to stop allowing fringe individuals to come and divide us,” Ron Griffin of the Rose of Sharon Church of God in Christ in Detroit said.

"We need to send a message that we're not going to allow that."

Members of the InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit as well as members of the clergies' congregations stood together on Thursday evening to protest a plan by fundamentalist pastor Terry Jones to hold a rally today outside the Islamic Center mosque.

Attendants, about 700, included Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly Jr. and US Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat, who gave speeches in solidarity with the Muslim community.  

The event came in a series of condemnations which followed declaration by Jones that he will protest against Islam and Shari`ah outside the Dearborn-based Islamic Center of America on Friday.

Jones, a 58-year-old pastor and the head of a small fringe church in Gainesville, Florida, burnt the Qur’an in front of a crowd of about 50 people on March 20 in what he called "International Judge the Qur'an Day".

Video posted on the website of his church showed a kerosene-soaked book going up in bright flames, sending thousands of angry Afghans into the streets in deadly protests that left scores of people dead.

Before the vigil, the InterFaith Leadership Council hosted a nearly one-hour "Vigil for the Beloved Community" program inside the Islamic Center.

A sign outside the large banquet hall read: "Pastor Terry Jones Does Not Speak on Behalf of Christians."

Another peaceful protest was planned on Friday at 4 pm at the Dearborn Civic Center, away from the mosque to avoid any confrontations.

Since 9/11, US Muslims, estimated between six to seven million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights, with a prevailing belief that America was stigmatizing their faith.

There have been 800 incidents of violence, threats and vandalism against Muslims since 2001. Estimates show that 14 percent of religious discrimination is reported against Muslims.

Thankful

The support shown by different faith communities was highly appreciated by Dearborn Muslims, the Detroit Free Press reported on Friday.

The Muslim community was “indebted to our Christian friends who have showed us absolute support,” Islamic Center Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini said.

“Terry Jones, he is not representative of the Christian community. ... Terry Jones is speaking for himself only.

“This is bigotry, and we condemn his bigotry.”

Thanking the attendance, Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Jones has involuntarily brought US various faith communities together.

"Now that the bridges are built, we need to cross those bridges," he said.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron of the Archdiocese of Detroit, who attended the event, agreed.

"We have an opportunity to show the nation and the world that it is possible for peoples of many different faiths to respect one another and to foster mutual understanding," said Vigneron, who also spoke at the program.

Detesting Jones’ infamous tactics towards the city, O'Reilly, Dearborn mayor, said he was pleased by the reaction of other faith communities in the city.

“It’s a wonderful, great, diverse group that shows incredible community support,” O’Reilly said of the InterFaith Leadership Council, Dearborn Patch reported.

“It does send a message that people really do believe that we are a community of one and that we all come from the same source.

“It gives a contrast to the message that Terry Jones is going to bring,” he added.

“You look at what happened here today and we’ve shown that in this community, our faith leaders are telling us that even if we we’ve lost our way, come together, respect each other and embrace religion.”