A Touching Response to Intolerance #WeAreAllBurlington

We often hear people talking about accentuating the positive and not letting negative acts impact us. While these words are great, the true test comes when people are confronted by unwarranted negative actions intended to demean them. As community members in Burlington have seen and heard, the members of OUR local mosque (The Islamic Center of Burlington) had their place of worship defaced this past weekend with USA painted multiple times on its outside walls and sign.

Today the Islamic Center of Burlington responded with the ultimate show of positive energy in the face of this hateful act with an interfaith event “We Are All Americans” where members of the entire community were able to come together and show their support for the members of OUR local mosque. It was inspiring to to see how OUR community members responded to this ignorant act. Our local interfaith clergy group brought together representatives of each of the local places of worship as well as town and state officials. Most important, in my opinion, was the manner in which the Islamic Center of Burlington welcomed all with open arms, giving those in attendance to stand together in support of OUR neighbors who were targeted by intolerance.

The pictures below show the manner in which the members of the Islamic Center of Burlington chose to respond to this incident. They posted their own comments surrounding the spray painted USA which showed how they feel about their community and their country and turned this ignorant act into a touching display of Patriotism.

#WeAreAllBurlington