[Vision2020] Stand with Muslim neighbors

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of today’s (July 7, 2018) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Letter: Stand with Muslim neighbors

With the recent Supreme Court decision upholding the policy limiting travel to the U.S. from largely Muslim countries, we, the undersigned faith leaders from Moscow and Pullman, wish to publicly proclaim our love and support for our Muslim neighbors. We find the "Muslim Ban" to be unjust, unwarranted and unconscionable. It also sets a dangerous precedent, opening the door to further exclusion and discrimination.

Here on the Palouse, the presence of our Muslim brothers and sisters profoundly enriches our universities, our communities and our lives. They are students, teachers, friends and co-workers, parents and children, grandparents, aunts and uncles and we value their contributions to our towns. Their message has consistently been one of friendship and solidarity, and we offer our friendship and solidarity in return.

We commit to allying with the Islamic community in the face of this discriminatory policy and any others that may be forthcoming. As always, we encourage all people of good will to stand against hate, and to step in to prevent acts of Islamophobia.

We support peace through understanding. We support community through listening, learning and serving together in mutual respect. May we celebrate our common humanity rather than giving in to the forces that would divide us.

Rev. Elizabeth Stevens, UU Church of the Palouse
Rev. Debbie Sperry, Moscow First United Methodist Church
Rev. A. Stephen van Kuiken, Community Congregational United Church of Christ
Rev. Linda Young, St. James Episcopal Church
Rev. Norman Fowler, First Presbyterian Church, Moscow
Annie Reneau, Bahá'í community of Pullman
Larry Fox, Pullman Interfaith Leadership Group
Rev. Robin Biffle, St. Mark's Episcopal Church
Karla Neumann Smiley, Lutheran Campus Ministry at the UI
Mohammed Islam, Islamic Community of the Palouse
Marc Levin, President, Jewish Community of the Palouse
Rev. Jodie Tooley, United Church of Moscow
Rev. Shane Moore, Simpson United Methodist Church
Pat Rathmann, UU Church of the Palouse
Liz Siler, St. James Episcopal Church

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As Michael Jackson, so appropriately, suggested . . .

“We are the World”
https://youtu.be/hYJKBnGZnMA

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
 “There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met.” - William Butler Yeats

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