American Muslim Institution has strongly condemned violence at a White Supremacist Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday.
The gruesome killing of an innocent bystander, Heather Heyer, took place when a white nationalist supporter, believed to be James Alex Fields, Jr., aged 20, of Ohio, rammed a car into a crowd, crushing and injuring people at the end of protests and counter-protests in the city of Charlottesville.
“It is yet another stark reminder that we, as a nation, must confront the problem of domestic terrorism, no matter the faith or national origin of the perpetrator” said AMI President, Ambassador Islam Siddiqui.
“We also urge President Trump to call out the perpetrators of this violence and for law enforcement officials to control their extremist acts, even as all people are permitted to exercise their First Amendment constitutional rights.
“AMI stands up for the peaceful expression of dissent, but this kind of violence has no place in our society. We believe in coexistence among all diverse voices and ideas. This kind of violence, if allowed to spread, will embolden all those espousing extreme ideologies and will be particularly harmful for America’s minorities and diverse communities,” Ambassador Siddiqui added.
“Therefore, President Trump and elected officials at all levels of our government must condemn these extremist ideologies and violence unequivocally.”
Secondly, the AMI president said, it is incumbent on all elected leaders and law enforcement officials to term Saturday’s violence as an act of terrorism and show to the American people and the world that America does not discriminate, but instead treats all its citizens equally and fairly in accordance with its Constitution and the law.
“AMI joins hands in offering condolences to the family of Heather Heyer and sends its deepest sympathies on behalf of all American Muslims to the scores of those injured in last Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville.”
AMI is a proactive voice for American Muslims and working to advance interfaith understanding and harmony through dialogue among America’s diverse communities.