Georgia Muslims ‘CounterACT Hate’ With Interfaith Rally, Collecting 2,000 Pounds of Food

(ATLANTA, GA – 6/10/2017) – The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations today announced that attendees at its interfaith rally and food drive, “No To Extremism & Bigotry. Yes To Service & Unity,” donated 2,000 pounds of nonperishable food for the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

 

“While armed anti-Islam bigots sought to divide our state with hate, Georgia’s interfaith community united our state in service,” said Ruwa Romman, communications director for CAIR Georgia. “Georgia Muslims thank our Christian, Jewish and secular neighbors for standing with us and donating over 500 pounds of food to those in need.”

 

SEE: VIDEO OF INTERFAITH RALLY & FOOD DRIVE

 

During the interfaith event, a diverse line-up of  faith-based and secular speakers also expressed solidarity with the Georgia Muslim community and debunked anti-Muslim rhetoric spread by the hate group ACT for America at its “Marches Against Sharia,” including one in Piedmont Park.

“ACT for America has no idea what Islam teaches, much less what Sharia actually means,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, executive director of CAIR Georgia. “Like canon law in Catholicism and halakha in Judaism, sharia simply refers to the rules that Muslims follow, from praying five times a day to tithing annually to fasting during Ramadan.”

 

Mitchell added, “Although both ACT for America and ISIS hold radical interpretations of what Sharia means, they are just as wrong as the KKK was about the teachings of the Bible. Terrorism, female genital mutilation, and other horrific practices have nothing to do with our faith, and we support the criminal prosecution of those who engage in such acts.”

 

ACT, whose hateful rhetoric has been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, attracted armed members of the III% Security Force to its protest at Piedmont Park. The rightwing militia group previously protested the construction of a mosque Newton County.

 

SEE NEW VIDEO:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2BubWrtKHQ&feature=youtu.be

CAIR Georgia

Al-Farooq Masjid

ACLU of Georgia

Amnesty International

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta

Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam

Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice

Black Lives Matter

Gwinnett Islamic Circle

Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta

Jewish Voice for Peace

Madina Institute U.S.A

Masjid Al-Momineen

Masjid Hamzah

Masjid Jafar

Masjid Omar Bin Abdul Aziz

Muslim American Society

Roswell Community Masjid – RCM