New Haveners of different religious faiths marked the ninth anniversary of the 9 – 11 attacks by uniting behind Muslims who are now feeling the brunt of a backlash.
They assembled at First and Summerfield Church in downtown New Haven Saturday for a prayer vigil organized by Interfaith Cooperative Ministries.
Rabbi Herb Brockman of Congregation Mishkan Israel (in video) offered an historical parallel. When his congregation formed in New Haven in the 1800s, local leaders saw it as a threat and condemned, in the same tone as people are now condemning plans to build a Muslim center a few blocks from Ground Zero.
Among the local religious leaders participating Saturday was Imam Abdul-Majid Karim Hasan, who has been one of the most persistent voices for peace and interfaith understanding in New Haven. The Register has a story about a possible hate crime that occurred when someone defaced the imam’s Hamden home this weekend.