Source: North Texas Interfaith

Dear Community,

As faith leaders from the Dallas/Fort Worth area we respond to the events of May 3rd in Garland.

We are grateful for the officers who bravely risked their lives in the service of protecting event attendees and the people of Garland, and we give thanks that none of them lost their lives in the line of duty.

We acknowledge that the values and actions expressed in Garland this past weekend do not reflect who we are as a people in North Texas. The organizers of the cartoon event offering prize money for depicting Islam’s prophet, and the attackers who responded in violence, all came from outside of our state.

We faith leaders here in North Texas condemn violence in all its forms, and we stand strong in supporting the freedom of speech and expression that makes our country so great. However, we also know that our faith calls us to use freedom wisely and in the service of compassion and justice. We see no positive outcome in events which exist solely for provocation, intended to mock and degrade what people of another faith hold dear.

Our Muslim neighbors in Texas and across the country have felt the pain of unwarranted suspicion and hateful speech. We hope that no one will use these recent events as opportunities to increase hateful rhetoric against our Muslim friends who are in no way associated with acts of violence.

The temptation among people will be to be more suspicious and hateful of our neighbors tomorrow than we are today. As people of faith, we will always seek to love and to understand our neighbors more tomorrow than we do today.

We pray for peace. We pray for compassion and kindness. We pray for healing.

In peace,

Rev. Pamela Wat, Minister
Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Denton

Rev. Aaron White, Associate Minister
First Unitarian Church, Dallas

Rev. Craig Hunter, Pastor
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Denton

Rev. Mark Walz, Minister
Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff, Dallas

Rev. Don Lee, United Methodist Church Clergy
Denton

Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis
Congregation Kol Ami, Flower Mound

Rev. Alex Holt, Interim Minister
Westside Unitarian Universalist Church, Fort Worth

The Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas, United Methodist Clergy, Religion Columnist
Denton

Rev. Marjorie Montgomery, Retired Clergy
Unitarian Universalist, Fort Worth

Rev. Matthew B. Gaston, Lead Pastor
University Park United Methodist Church, Dallas

Rev. Karl Travis, Pastor
First Presbyterian Church,  Fort Worth

Rabbi Andrew Paley, Senior Rabbi
Temple Shalom, Dallas

Rev. Lora Brandis, Unitarian Universalist Clergy
Dallas

Rev. Joe Clifford, Pastor
First Presbyterian Church, Dallas

Rev. Alan Baroody, Interim Pastor
Saint Andrew Presbyterian Church, Denton

Rev. Jennifer Innis, Consulting Minister
First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church, Fort Worth

Rev. Katie Klein, Pastor
Cooper Creek United Methodist Church, Denton

Beth Dana, Minister of Spiritual Life and Community Involvement
First Unitarian Church, Dallas

Rev. Christine Ng, Senior Minister
Central Congregational Church, Dallas

Rev. Helen Carroll, Interim Minister
Horizon Unitarian Universalist Church, Carrollton

Rev. Daniel Kanter, Senior Minister
First Unitarian Church, Dallas

Rev. Carol Montgomery, Campus Minister/Director
The Denton Wesley Foundation (N. Texas UMC), Denton

Imam Shpendim Nadzaku, Resident Scholar
Islamic Association of North Texas, Richardson

Rev. Patrick Price, Minister
Community Unitarian Universalist Church, Plano

Sheikh Qutaibah Abbasi, Imam
Duncanville Islamic Center, Duncanville

Rev. Eleanor Cherryholmes, Retired Clergy
Presbyterian Church (USA), Denton

Dr. Khalid Kebbati, Principal / Motivational Speaker
IANT Quranic Academy, Richardson

Rev. Annie Foerster, Retired Clergy
Unitarian Universalist, Fort Worth

Imam Moujahed Bakhach, Imam
Islamic Association of Tarrant County, Fort Worth

Rev. Carol S.Wood, Retired Clergy
Presbyterian Church (USA), Roanoke

Rev. Nancy DeStefano, Pastor
St. Stephen United Methodist Church, Mesquite

Imam Omar Suleiman, Resident Scholar
Valley Ranch Islamic Center, Irving

Imam Ahmed Alarafi, Chairman
Medina Research Institute, Garland

Rev. Dr. Robert S. Hanson, Retired Clergy
Presbyterian Church (USA), Denton

Abdelkader Mohamed, Director of Quranic Studies
IATC Ibrahimi Masjid, Fort Worth

Imam Dr. Zafar Anjum, Imam
Islamic Center of Frisco, Frisco

Imam Zia Sheikh, Imam
Islamic Center of Irving, Irving

Rabbi Asher Knight, Rabbi
Temple Emanu-El, Dallas

Rev. Joseph Stabile, Pastor
Cochran Chapel United Methodist Church, Dallas

Taha Hamid, Imam
Chairman Imams Council, Dallas/Fort Worth

Rev. Allison Ray, Minister
First Christian Church, Garland

Emad Hamdan, Religious Speaker
DFW Islamic Center, Arlington

Rabbi Kimberly Herzog Cohen, Clergy
Temple Emanu-El, Dallas

Rev. Norma Cooper, Pastor
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church ELCA, Irving

Imam Mohamed Fouad, Imam
Islamic Society of Denton, Denton

Imam Rasheed Farah, Imam
Islamic Association of Lewisville / Flower Mound, Flower Mound

Rabbi David Stern, Rabbi
Temple Emanu-El, Dallas

Dr. Vince Baugher, Public Information Officer
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Denton, Denton

Elder Nancy Hadsell, Pastor
McKinney Community of Christ, McKinney

Rev. Jarrell H. Sharp, Retired Clergy
First United Methodist, Denton

Imam Nadim Bashir, Imam/Religious Director
East Plano Islamic Center, Plano

Faith leaders in North Texas, if you would like to stand with us by adding your name to this open letter, please share your information below:

Click here for reference and to put your name