SURENDRA ULLAL
SAN DIEGO: Members of THE Indian American community at large here have strongly condemned the shooting at Chabad of Poway Synagogue in Poway, California, April 27 and expressed sympathy to victims.
Deeply saddened Rajan Zed, President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said that it was a senseless and shocking act of violence. targeting innocent people at the sacred place of worship place.
Appealing for interfaith unity, Zed said: “We, as people of faith, despite our different belief systems, must take a stand against violence by coming together with kindness and love.”
Madhu Patel of NRI Press Cub said that this is yet another act of unpardonable sin and coming close on heels of senseless killing of innocent people in Sri Lanka, one tends to wonder whether the root cause of many ills in the world is religious intolerance.
“It is the responsibility of sane people in the community to see that hatred is curbed at the root,” Patel said.
Meanwhile, the mass killing of Christian in Sri Lanka is still unnerving many here. Denouncing the Sri Lankan carnage, Sharon Brannigan, Palos Township Trustee, Illinois, observed: “In Sri Lanka, 10 Catholic/Christian churches lost 290 (sic) of their praying members during Easter Sunday services. These very well planned attacks were committed by the murderous Islamic terrorist group known as National Thowheeth Jamath in coordination with Al Qaeda and/or Islamic State.
“These despicable and horrific attacks perpetrated on Easter Sunday, the most Holy Day of the year for Christians, is stunning and abhorrent. The pattern of continued attacks on Christians worldwide must cease immediately and be publicly condemned by all International governments.
“As an American Christian woman and an elected official, I completely and thoroughly condemn the actions of these groups, and I’m calling on all United States representatives, in particular, congressman Dan Lipinski (D-3rd district) Illinois to do the same.”
Fran Volpe, a community activist affiliated with social organizations, said: “Wake up world to the nature and gravity of the jihadist threat by fundamentalist Muslims. The majority of Muslims are not active jihadists, but the world, including all Muslims must denounce terrorists and their Islamic doctrine that clearly states that Islam will dominate and will never be equal with any other religion that is not Islamic.”