Faith Leaders Urge Restraint, Kindness After Boston

You can't judge a book by its cover and you can't judge a person by their religion or ethnicity. 

That was the message Friday afternoon when the Council on American Islamic Relations Missouri (CAIR Missouri) held an interfaith press conference at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza. 

Faizan Syed, executive director of CAIR Missouri, told Patch he called the event after hearing of anti-Muslim sentiments arising after law enforcement named Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, two brothers originally from Chechnya, as the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing.

For more on the bombing and its aftermath, see Watertown (MA) Patch. 

"There haven't been any reports of discrimination in Missouri," he said. "We've heard some reports in the Chicago area and those are being investigated." 

The press conference, held in conjunction with a weekend conference for area Muslim students, was attended by faith leaders from around the area.

Dr. Ghazala Hayat, a director of Neuromuscular Division at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and a leader in interfaith discussions, condemned the Boston bombings and said she felt "intense pain" when learning that the suspects were of the Muslim faith.

"We have no idea why you did this," she said. "You will be answerable for your crimes on the day of judgement."

David Gerth, Executive Director of Metropolitan Congregations United, noted that all people of faith are horrified by senseless death. He noted that after the attack, people of all faiths needed to react with prayer.

"We need to gather together to grieve and mourn, gather together to worship and gather together for fellowship and food," he said. "Together we are much stronger than we are apart."

Rev. Krista Taves, pastor of the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Chapel in Ellisville, also spoke at the press conference. She shared her comments as a blog on Ballwin-Ellisville Patch. 

Mustafa Abdullah, a program associate with the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, urged all people to resist the rush to judgement based on religion, race or ethnicity. 

"We are a shining example of religious freedom," he said. 

He added that John Winthrop's oft-quoted "City upon a Hill" sermon was not just a reminder of Christian values shining down from America. 

"There are mosques and synagogues and temples surrounding those churches on a hill," Abdullah said. 

CAIR Missouri

According to CAIR's web site, the St. Louis chapter was formed in 2000 to help educate Muslims living in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois about their rights and ways to become active participants in the American experience.

The group also serves as a bridge between Muslims and non-Muslims.