|
|
| |
|
Building Bridges
in Western New York |
 |
| |
Jewish group supports mosque |
By Jay Tokasz
News Staff Reporter – Buffalo News
Published: 2010-09-03 09:14:12.0
A group of Orleans County Muslims harassed earlier this week while praying in their mosque is getting support from a Jewish organization in Buffalo.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo wrote a letter Thursday, urging Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone to send a message of "zero tolerance" for bigotry when he prosecutes the defendants accused of yelling obscenities, honking car horns and firing a shotgun outside the Town of Carlton mosque.
Five male teenagers have been charged with disrupting a religious service in connection with the harassment, which allegedly occurred Aug. 27 and again Monday. One of the teens also was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
"Tensions continue to rise and tempers boil over the proposed creation of an Islamic Cultural Center near the former site of the World Trade Center in New York City. However, we were appalled to hear about the shotgun blast outside the mosque in Carlton ... and the subsequent harassment of members of the Muslim community," reads the letter, which is signed by Daniel G. Kantor, the federation's executive director, and by Ellen S. Goldstein, marketing and community relations director.
The letter encouraged Cardone to prosecute the incident as a hate crime if an investigation reveals there is basis for it.
"Regardless of the roots of the incidents, violence and hatred are never excusable," the letter continues. "This demonization and bullying in Orleans County [tears] at the heart of our pluralistic society. Freedom of religion is a cornerstone of American democracy."
Members of the World Sufi Foundation Mosque said they also have received words of support from some churches in Orleans County.
|
| |
Education |
Health |
Livelihoods |
| |
Curiosity |
Creativity |
Communication |
| |
Collaboration |
|
Commitment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Islam for Jews
from JPS | from Amazon | in Arabic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Empty Chair / The Still Empty Chair - honoring the memories of Cantor Susan Wehle and the others who died in Flight 3407
|
back to top
"The place you are called to is where
your deep gladness meets the world's great hunger." - Frederick Buechner
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can... Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can..." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"In a controversy, the instant we feel anger,
we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves." - Abraham Joshua Heschel
"An enemy is one whose story we have not heard." - Gene Knudsen-Hoffman
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.
It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction." - Albert Einstein
"A group of monks once asked their Zen master how it was that he was always able to feel compassion for other people.
His response: What 'other' people?" -
Buddhist koan
NEW "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
 - cropped.jpg)
by Kalysha Rourke - 3rd Grader, Charles E. Riley Elementary, Oswego, NY 13126
(with permission from her mother Nicole)
|
Building Bridges in WNY on:
 |
|
Building Bridges in WNY on Changemakers "... a community of action where we all collaborate on solutions." |
|
Building Bridges in WNY is pleased to partner with JData.com, a resource for strengthening the Jewish education system. |
|
|
|
|
Three Faiths Exhibit
Link to Changemakers
Link to JData Directory
