photos courtesy of Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The recent troubles in the Mideast have hit very close to home and so many friends and neighbors have been affected . Imam Mahmoud Hamza and Rabbi Fine led a group of religious leaders and some local elected local officials from the Ridgewood Board of Education and the Village Council in a vigil and press conference bringing together Jewish and Muslim residents in a unified stance of peace and unity. The vigil was keep small and just about neighbors . Imam Mahmoud Hamza said ,”We hope that this message of peace and unity will reverberate in our community and we can be an example to others”
The group read and signed the following statement:
Here in Ridgewood, we are one community. There isn’t your community or my community.
There is only our community. We recognize the pain and suffering of all those affected in our
community by the crisis in the Middle East;
We the community and faith leaders, of Muslim, Jewish, and other faiths urge respect during
these tragic times in the Middle East;
We agree in condemning terrorism, mourning the loss of innocent life – regardless of faith or
ethnicity – and coming together as a community. While we may disagree on political and other
issues, we are all bound by a common decency as neighbors and as Americans;
We urge our fellow citizens to remember that what unites us is far greater than what divides us
and that we agree on far more than we disagree;
We ask our fellow citizens of opposing views to respect and to listen to each other, to show
empathy and to set an example for our community and nation in civil discourse;
We completely denounce any act of violence, Islamophobia, Antisemitism or disrespect here in
the United States in the name of any cause;
We hope for a world of safety, security, freedom and self-determination for all; Israelis and
Palestinians alike.
We are fortunate to call the United States our home where we live in peace, safety and freedom
amongst our diverse faiths, ethicizes and viewpoints;
We pray for that same peace, safety and freedom for Christians, Jews and Muslims alike in the
Middle East and call for mutual respect for human rights for all and an end to the violence;
God bless all of our neighbors and these United Stated of America.
Tell your story #TheRidgewoodblog , #Indpendentnews, #information, #advertise, #guestpost, #affiliatemarketing,#
Mahmoud is a great guy. We need more like him.
Not to take away from a great occurence in our fair village, but Evan looks so unconfortable.
The sad part is that a religious world war is coming, Islam vs. the world, and I hope and pray that smarter and more loving leaders emerge in the Muslim faith to save the millions of souls who are sure to perish. THIS should be the #1 goal of the UN and good governments worldwide, and it is not. This religion ISLAM is the largest purveyor of hate in the world today, and it needs to be stopped – or stomped.
Zero self-awareness, this one.
In 1994 there were 46 conflicts (wars) around the globe.
Muslims were involved in half of these conflicts.
Religion of peace.
Complete and utter pablum so demonstrably false, and contradicted by everyone’s daily experience, it can only be recited for and by either the most mentally insipid or the most sanctimonious career bullshitters.
This war has been going on for years. Locally, besides today, how has this group closed the gap with current residents. And what is the plan moving forward. Today was great but ….