Vigil honors Muslim victims from New Zealand attack
Mourners lay flowers on a wall at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 16, 2019. New Zealand’s stricken residents reached out to Muslims in their neighborhoods and around the country on Saturday, in a fierce determination to show kindness to a community in pain as a 28-year-old white supremacist stood silently before a judge, accused in mass shootings at two mosques that left dozens of people dead. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
By dusk on Sunday, more than 200 people had gathered on the sidewalks of Seventh and Hamilton streets in Allentown to honor the 50 victims of attacks on two mosques in New Zealand’s city of Christchurch.
“Let it be known that Allentown did not remain silent when all of this violence was taking place,” Imam Basheer Bilaal, of the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley, said in reference to the massacres.
“Let history take note that you stood beside your fellow brothers and sisters in humanity while there was these acts of terrorism taking place on the other side of the world.”
Sunday’s vigil was coordinated by the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley and Al Ahad Islamic Center, among other community organizations. Religious leaders and community members used the time to remember those who were killed and to foster interfaith unity.
“(We) will not allow their hate to prevail. (We) will not allow them to strike fear into the hearts of the believers and to the people living in these societies. We will not allow them to scare us and our brothers and sisters,” Basheer Bilaal said.
Last Friday’s attacks were New Zealand’s deadliest in modern history. In the wake of the killings, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has already promised changes would be made to the country’s gun laws.
So far, a 28-year-old white supremacist from Australia, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, has been charged with murder in the massacre.
Tarrant is expected to face additional charges.
“Now, like never before, we who believe will use our faith to pray with our feet,” Allentown pastor Greg Edwards said.
“At this time, we stand in the deep waters of solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters, who’ve been standing for far too long by themselves.”
For almost two hours, speakers took to the podium, sharing messages of resilience, hope and solidarity.
The crowd stood shoulder-to-shoulder in attention, their faces lit only by the dim glow of flickering candlelight.
When wind extinguished one candle, another’s flame was offered. And through the night, light was preserved.
