HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- A circle of more than 120 visitors and members of Huntsville Sikh community sat together in prayer Friday evening in a demonstration of unity in the face of the violence of Sunday’s shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
“I look out, and I see all religions, all races
here,” said Huntsville police Capt. Tommy Presley Jr. “This is our
America. I know some people don’t see it that way, but this is the real
America.”
The gunman in Sunday’s attack, which killed six people
and wounded four others, including a police officer, was a member of
white supremacist organizations.
Dr. Daniel Crosby, a psychologist
who said he became friends in high school with a teenage member of the
congregation because, as a Mormon and a Sikh, they both faced
misunderstanding of their faiths, also spoke.
There was a
good reason for people in Huntsville to gather, he said, even though
they are more than 600 miles from where the attack happened.
“Violence
against one faith group is violence against the bodies of all faith
groups everywhere,” Crosby said, speaking with a voice strained with
emotion. “Doing harm to any of God’s children is doing harm to all of
God’s children.”
The tragedy that had brought so many visitors to
the temple and prompted many to learn about Sikhs should lead to action,
Crosby said.
“Moments like this vigil are bought at an expensive
price,” Crosby said. “The least we can do is to determine how we will
become part of a brighter tomorrow.”
Rajinder Singh Mehta, one of the congregational leaders, thanked visitors for their support of the Sikh community.
“We
are refusing to accept that human beings are malicious and hateful,”
Mehta said. “We are rejecting the notion that we need to live in fear.”
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