East Lansing’s Islamic Center reacts to Orlando massacre

“They never belonged to this lovely faith”, Awad said.

Shortly after the shooter’s name was reported on Sunday, the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD), which works to empower and connect LGBTQ Muslims, released a statement expressing grief for the “senseless loss of life that is a reminder of the violence that LGBTQ people continue to experience”. Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, massacred nine people in a SC church; Robert Dear, holding fundamental beliefs, killed three at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic; and just this weekend, another man was found with a auto full of explosives on his way to a gay pride parade in Los Angeles.

Abjani was chair of programming for the 2016 Retreat for LGBTQ Muslims and their partners, held at the end of May in Philadelphia. “That is not who we are”, he told reporters.

Looking ahead, Islamic studies professor Amanullah De Sondy says that it is crucial for all Muslim communities to unequivocally support queer Muslims.

In support of those seeking food and shelter, Sikhs in Orlando opened two temples to anyone who needed it. Sikhs have often borne the backlash after any attack carried out by a radical Muslim. This heinous attack is antithetical to the ideals of a civilized society.

“We reject attempts to perpetuate hatred against our LGBTQ communities as well as our Muslim communities”, the organization continued. The LGBTQ community has stood in solidarity with the American Muslim community in challenging Islamophobia, on college campuses and beyond, and today we stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community.

Shawn Ahmed, who runs The Uncultured Project, an anti-poverty organization, has been tweeting about what it means to him to be gay and Muslim.

However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is still investigating whether the gunman, Omar Mateen, was a “lone wolf” or part of a network that still poses a threat.

The leaders asked politicians and the media not to assign guilt to the Muslim religion as a whole. Sheikh Hassan Jama, executive director of the Minneapolis-based Islamic Association of North America, acknowledged his faith does not embrace homosexuality.

Lowe was one of several South Floridians who gathered Monday night at the Islamic School of Miami at Al Noor Mosque in Kendall to join in Iftar – the breaking of the fast meal.

Researchers have long studied the motivations of terrorists, with psychologist Arie Kruglanski proposing a particularly compelling theory: people become terrorists to restore a sense of significance in their lives, a feeling that they matter. You’re not a god.

Meanwhile, many liberals actually attacked Christians, saying their “homophobia” played a role, and many more emphasized the need for gun control, which arguably would make such shootings more likely, not less.

He pointed to the example of the late boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who spent many of his post-boxing years emphasizing the importance of inner peace and spirituality.