Religion News Service reports:
George Floyd’s killing was a final straw for thousands of Americans protesting against police brutality and systemic police racism. Muslim leaders say it may also, at long last, prove to be a tipping point for non-black Muslim communities.
“This has been a rough week, a rough two months for Black Muslims who have been deeply impacted by police brutality and mass incarceration,” said Margari Aziza Hill, co-founder of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative. “We are in mourning, we are tired, we are angry, we are mobilizing.”
Below is a list of support and action-items given by Muslim leaders and activists:
— Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative is encouraging non-black Muslims to take five action items — including committing to addressing anti-blackness internally, calling on Minnesota officials for police accountability and joining local efforts to promote racial justice…. “We are currently getting a flood of expressions of support,” said Ms. Hill.
— In New Jersey, more than 60 groups signed on to a statement agreeing to commit to the action items. “We stand in love and solidarity with every Black person who was ever excluded, ignored, or made to feel unequal within our Muslim organizations, masjids, Islamic schools, or businesses,” the signatories, more than half of which were mosques, agreed. “We will no longer wait for another death to move us to recognize that Black people have an inalienable right to exist peacefully in this country.”
— The Northern California Islamic Council was one of the first Muslim organizations to publish a statement in “steadfast solidarity” with black Americans. “We are all connected through the long, painful, and constant historical struggle for justice, fairness and equality for all,” the group, led by Zaytuna College co-founder Hatem Bazian, wrote. “Let’s be clear, State violence against Black Americans has gone on for far too long and without any accountability; the time to end it is NOW and calls for our urgent attention.”
