Assalamu’alaikum. It’s my honor to be with all of you. This is one of the great houses of worship in this city that we stand before and it's the right place for us to be in solidarity with each other in the aftermath of a horrific attack on people of faith, peacefully worshiping in New Zealand.
Our hearts go out to the families who lost their loved ones. Our prayers are with them. This city knows the pain of terrorism. We know the danger of discrimination, how it can turn violent, how it can tear families apart. So we stand in solidarity with our Muslim community, with the Muslim community all over the world, with the people of New Zealand, and with particularly the people of Christchurch as they go through this pain. And I'd like us all in solidarity and together to have a moment of silence for all those who were lost.
Thank you very much. I stand here today as a leader of this city to send a clear message to all our Muslim brothers and sisters that we stand with you in solidarity. We understand the pain you're feeling at this moment and the loss you are feeling, and we are here to ensure that this community is respected and embraced and protected. We know that in our hour of need, particularly when hate and violence stalk us, that we are protected every day by the men and women of the NYPD. And as I arrived, I saw a strong NYPD presence around this mosque, and that's true around mosques all over this city. And I want to thank the men and women of the NYPD for their strong show of support protecting this community. Thank you.
I also want to note – and it's something that I tell people not only here, but wherever I go – if you want to remember how we're all in this together, remember the proud members of the NYPD – 900 members of the NYPD who are Muslim, who serve us all, who we all look up to. And we honor them at this particular, painful moment.
I want to thank everyone for coming here together, and a special thank you to a great leader – our host, Imam Jalloh. I want to thank the members of my administration who are here to do all we can to support the community. A special thank you to our Chief of Patrol of the NYPD Rodney Harrison, you'll hear from in a moment. Thank you, Chief, so much. Thank you to Council Member Ben Kallos for being here – this is a community he represents. And I saw coming in, the Permanent Representative of New Zealand's at the United Nations, Craig Hawke. Again, I extend my condolences to your nation and thank you for joining us.
My colleagues who spoke before me painted a picture of what we're experiencing now not just in the United States, but in other countries that we all consider to be democracies, countries we consider to be advanced, and yet we are seeing this violence rise up more and more, and this hatred. And in a world where we wonder what norms are left, what limits, what standards are left, this particularly painful reality that just in the last few years we more and more see attacks inside houses of worship. The most unthinkable, unspeakable idea is now becoming somehow common. And as you heard, the horrible attack inside Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where I was on Sunday – in that church where that attack happened. First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, Texas; Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; and now a mosque so many thousands of miles away in New Zealand – this is a sickness that is growing in our society, and I agree with my colleagues that we have to be the ones to stop it. Our houses of worship cannot be turned into killing fields. We have to be clear, as a society, we will not tolerate any violence against people of faith, against people because of their race, their ethnicity, for any reason. And we have to weed out those among us who would propagate such violence.
White nationalism goes hand in hand with terrorism – let’s be clear. As a belief structure, it leads to only one place – to terror and violence – all those who believe in this idea of creating an atmosphere of threat for everyone else, and they must be addressed
As we take in this pain, we also have to be resolved to know that we will protect each other. It’s important for me to say to all New Yorkers that at this hour there have been no credible and specific threats against Muslim community centers or mosques in New York City. And we will monitor constantly, working with our federal partners. We'll address anything that emerges, but I want to reassure people there is no credible and specific threat at this moment. But that will not stop us from having a strong presence in front of crucial Muslim community locations to send the message of reassurance to the community of solidarity, but also a message of deterrence to all those who think the wrong way about their fellow human being.
In these moments, it's easy for people in their pain to pull back, to withdraw, to feel that there's less and less goodness in the world. But we see in each of these moments, people of all faiths come to the rescue of those who are afflicted. They stand up in solidarity. As you go around this mosque, read the name plate of each NYPD member. You will see people of every faith, every background, but they share a single mission – to protect their fellow human being. And this is something that New York City provides as an example to the world, the most diverse place on earth, and our men and women in uniform know they are here to serve all. All of us in government know we are here to serve all. Our faith leaders reach out to each other in solidarity in any moment of distress. That is the norm in this city – that faith leaders gather together regardless of their background to support each other. This is a lesson, an example we have to give the world.
In the vein of remembering that all humanity is one, I quote from a hadith from the Prophet Muhammad written in powerful poetry, which says – “when any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever." One limb is aching, now we all are reacting with the pain of our brothers and sisters in the Muslim community.
I wish I could say that after today, we will not see more instances of hate, but it'll take so much more work until that day has come. But I hope everyone remembers that whenever hate rears its head our reaction has to be swift and definite. The only way to end the hate is by standing up stronger and stronger each time together.
Assalamu’alaikum.
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