Muslim Support Rally
Yet Even More Encouraging News from Central Coast Calif.
Last night several hundred people gathered at Mission San Luis Obispo Plaza. Each was holding a lit candle. They were showing support for the Muslim community in the wake of Donald Trump’s recent immigration ban.
A Jewish rabbi talked of the need for us to love, not hate. She reminded us that our country was based on welcoming people from other countries.
Other speakers shared interesting statistics. One in four children in American are children of immigrants. It is more likely that a person will be struck by lightning than killed by a terrorist in America.
A Syrian woman spoke eloquently about the sadness she hears each time she phones her parents in Syria -- a friend’s son had been killed or a relative kidnapped and held for ransom. There is bad news in each phone call.
An elderly man who is in charge of the San Luis Obispo mosque told of an event that happened five years ago. He was in the courtyard of the mosque waiting for his children. A motorcyclist rode by. They nodded at each other. The motorcyclist returned. He took off his helmet, and hugged the Muslim man. The motorcyclist said, “We are all in this together. Peace to you.” He put on his helmet, got on his bike and left. The Muslim man said the SLO community has been leaving notes on the wall around the mosque and dropping some inside the wall. All of the notes have been supportive and positive.
A local Muslim doctor sang from the Koran and then translated what he had sung. The message was of caring for children, elderly and the sick. It was about helping others in times of need, treating others as neighbors. It called for extending love to those who hate.
Each time a speaker made an up-lifting statement, the crowd lifted their candles high and applauded. The evening ended by greeting people around us whom we didn’t know – building bridges, not walls.
The organizers were the women in charge of the recent Women’s March and various church organizations in SLO.
