The Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley invited the community to join today’s Friday service and subsequent press conference in solidarity against the officially-sanctioned bigotry of Representative Peter King and his congressional hearings.
Two friends (a Unitarian and a Jew) and I drove down from Carbon County to attend the service and press conference. It was my first time at a service in a mosque; my advice is to be sure your socks don’t have holes in them, because you do have to remove your shoes. The main speaker (imam?) welcomed the guests of other faiths and those without faith. He quoted from the Declaration of Independence and the German philosopher Schopenhauer and spoke of the need to reach out and help the community. He told his listeners that Muslims should not be shocked by bigotry and prejudice--that this is a rite of passage for new American immigrants (isn’t that sad?), and he exhorted the Muslims to remain strong and remember that all across America people were standing up to hatred.
The first person to speak at the press conference was a rabbi from Allentown who said, “Today I am a Muslim.” Sometimes I am ashamed of what some of my countrymen do, but today at that service and press conference, I was very proud to be an American.
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