Dear Community Members,
With a heavy heart, I share the news of another devastating mass shooting in our nation that struck close to home. Earlier today, I, like many of you, was picking up my three children from their elementary school and getting them excited about summer vacation. SubhanAllah, around the same time, 19 innocent people, 18 children, and one teacher were mercilessly gunned down at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, near San Antonio.
SEE: 18 Children and 1 Teacher Killed in texas Elementary School Shooting
As a father, I imagine myself in the shoes of countless parents, siblings, family members, and the community whose lives are shattered due to the senseless criminal act of the 18-year-old shooter. I ask everyone to join me and pray for the victims, their families, and our nation plagued with more mass shootings than days of the year.
Ultimately, our nation's political leaders must take action to address the crisis of mass shootings and gun violence. However, gridlock and political inaction give us little hope of any comprehensive political solution to mass shootings.
This shooting is also a stark reminder that we must strive to protect our own houses of worship, schools, and institutions as a community.
Security Training Offered: SubanAllah, it just so happened that earlier today, I had a CAIR-TX team meeting to finalize plans to hold security training for Islamic institutions in Austin with law enforcement. Also, in Dallas, we are working with the Justice Department to have a similar workshop for North Texas institutions. This tragedy reminds me, our team, and the community to mourn, pray for the victims, and do what we can to prevent such attacks.
Our goal is to provide professional resources and trainings to all Muslim institutions to be more secure. Not only large institutions but also smaller centers, musallahs, schools and offices.
I want to assure the community that our office will double our efforts to work with local law enforcement, the Justice Department, and community leaders to secure places of worship. We will continue to build bridges with coalitions that strive to address mass shootings. To do our part to make our community safer.
Request Training: If any house of worship, school, and other communal institution is interested in participating or holding such trainings please contact our team at (469)200-0273 or email
May Allah accept our prayers, help heal our nation, and guide us to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future, ameen.
Sincerely,
Faizan Syed
Executive Director