Burn No Sacred BooksBy M.N.Tarazi, Sept 11, 2010

In the name of God ,
God of Noah (Nouh), Abraham (Ibrahim) Moses (Musa)Jesus (Issa) and Mohammad,
Most gracious Most Merciful
I greet you with the greeting of Islam and the greeting of Islam is Salam (Peace)So I tell you: Peace be upon you all.

The Quran teaches us why we're created different:

"O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male (Adam) and a female (Eve) (Hawah) and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. 49:13"

And Islam encourages us to be positive contributing members of both our communities and our environment. Here are some of the teachings of Islam:

"God is the provider to all His creatures and the most beloved to God is those among you who are most beneficial to His creatures."

"If you happen to witness the start of the doomsday and you have a plant and if you live enough just to plant it then do so. "

"If a Muslim plants a tree, or sows a field and men and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is charity from him".

Dear brothers and Sisters:

We gather here today as Americans and what is good for America is good for all of us and what hurts America hurts all of us. We Muslims are part of the society and serving all as doctors, engineers, teachers, business people.

Throughout history minorities have come under attack particularly during times of economic hardships. Our country is going through hardship today and some people are lashing out against minorities in their anxiety about the future. But we all need to all stick together and help each other through these difficult times. This is what will make our country strong again and among the great successes of nations in the world.

We condemned the act of few deranged men on 9/11 that caused the death of thousands of innocent men and women including many Muslims. Islam forbids the killing of innocent men and women. Islam even forbids the killing of birds except for the necessity of food.
We cannot learn to live together and break down the barriers that divide us unless we get to know each other better.

I would like to thank my friend Ray, Sister Zerqa and all those who worked hard to put together this great event . And we are calling for continued interfaith efforts for the benefit of all of us American. Please make sure before you leave to have some Baklava donated by the Islamic Society of Greeter Columbus

Presented at the Interfaith Solidarity Service, Sept 11, 2010