Dear Friends,
Tuesday night, some of us attended a vigil for Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nadir Awad, who were shot and killed at the Islamic Center of San Diego (ICSD) on Monday by two disturbed teens. The vigil was held in Lindburgh Park where men and women of Coast Vineyard and men and women of ICSD have met together in the past for friendly soccer matches.
If you have ever visited ICSD, you may have been greeted with a wide smile by Amin Abdullah, a father of eight who was a security guard there for the last decade. He died protecting his community, and it may be largely due to his courage and faithfulness that more people did not die and that none of the children who attend school at the mosque were shot. Mansour Kaziha, who also confronted the shooters and who called the police when the shooters arrived, operated the small shop in the foyer of ICSD for forty years and served in a number of other ways as well. We have met, though I doubt he would remember me. From our very brief interactions, I remember him as a kind, friendly, and gentle man. Nadir Awad lived across the street from the mosque, and his wife is a teacher there. When he heard the gunshots, he ran into the building, rather than away from it as most people would have done, while urging others to flee. He too gave his life to protect his community and his loved ones. Thinking of these brave men brings to mind Jesus' words in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
I feel a great tension in this moment between the need to avoid placing blame where it cannot be directly and concretely attributed and the need to call for an end to hate and to the dehumanization of Muslim people and of people in general, whether based on race, social group, religion, disability, or anything else. Crimes like this happen with some regularity and are perpetrated against a variety of targets. (Think of some of the school shootings we've had where many of the victims seem to have been selected at random.) The largest factor leading to the crimes seems to be the self-loathing and personal despair of the perpetrators and the need to find someone to blame and on whom to take out their overwhelming anger. At the same time, the hate of young people like the ones who killed these men is fed and formed by the hateful rhetoric they hear around them. It is easier to shoot and kill someone whose life has been publicly devalued and who has been portrayed as less than human in our media and by our leaders. Our president portraying killing people in Iran as entertainment in his Truth Social posts, just for one example, encourages hate and the dehumanization of Iranians and of Muslim people in general. The anti-immigrant sentiments that have been expressed by the current administration and many ordinary people also help to feed and focus the hate of unstable and disturbed people. These things need to stop, and respect for all humanity, created in God's image, needs to grow in their place.
Though we do not speak often, Jamie and I have had the privilege of counting imam Taha Hassane and his wife Lallia as friends for many years. I invited Taha to Coast Vineyard to teach us about Islam in 2012, and he came with his whole family to meet us and worship God with us. After that, we ate in each other's homes and shared good conversations on many subjects. Taha and his family have visited our church on other occasions as well, and members of Coast Vineyard have visited ICSD. I spoke briefly with Lallia at the vigil on Tuesday night. I told her we are all praying for her family and for the people at ICSD. And I asked her to let us know if there is anything we can do. She asked that we continue to pray for them. So let's do that, both right now and in the days to come.
Please pray for an end to hate and crimes of hate. Pray that leaders of our nation who have been dehumanizing Muslims, immigrants, and other groups would repent and learn respect for God's image. Pray for God's grace for the three men who were killed. Pray that God will comfort their families and provide everything they need. Pray for God's protection over the ICSD community. Pray for protection from hate and that nothing like this ever happens to them again. Please also pray for the families of the two young men who did the shooting and then took their own lives. Pray for God's mercy on these angry and misguided teenagers. Pray that God will help their families to navigate their grief and their shame. Pray for healing for our city and shared love among its people.
I'd also to respond together in a simple way when we meet together this Sunday. I'm thinking it would fitting to walk the one block from our meeting place to theirs with flowers to add to the growing memorial along the fence, pray briefly and quietly outside the parking lot for healing and God's blessing on the ICSD community, and bring a donation for the families of the victims. More details on this to come. In the meantime, pray about how God might be leading you to help with a donation and plan to bring flowers to church this Sunday and to go for a short walk.
Love in Christ,
Michelle
