Hawzah News Agency (USA)-An interfaith service was held at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center on Sunday.
Men, women, and children of many faiths and backgrounds gathered Sunday evening to pray, share personal stories, and pledge to stand together against a wave of incivility, hate speech, and violence that has followed the November presidential election.
The crowd, estimated by organizers at 2,600, packed the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury to hear the voices of clergy and political leaders — including Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Senator Elizabeth Warren — but also everyday citizens.
“Now is a time when we must be willing to say loud and clear there is no room for bigotry anywhere in the United States of America — none,” Warren said. “An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and we will fight back against discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs.”
Mayor Walsh endorsed a statement of shared values read by members of the interfaith organization and pledged to stand with the religious community against bigotry and abuse.
“With you, I’m committed to working across our differences, to heal not just the wounds of this election, but the wounds of our history,” Walsh said.
Walsh said he has been troubled by bigoted rhetoric in national politics.
Walsh said he had often visited the Islamic Society of Boston since becoming mayor and encouraged all elected officials across the country to visit mosques to better prepare themselves for conversations about religious freedom.
Event organizers invited both Democrats and Republicans to speak.
Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito were unable to attend, but Baker sent a statement of support and pledged to work with the interfaith organization to protect the rights of all Massachusetts residents.
During part of the service, attendees were asked to talk for three minutes with someone around them that they did not know.
Nahma Nadich, associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said “People are feeling fearful, vulnerable,” Nadich said. “Because we’ve come to care so deeply about each other, people were concerned about others. The Muslims were worried about the Latino immigrants, and the Jews were worried about the Muslims.”
She said the past month has brought a wave of hatred that has no recent precedent.
