--For Immediate Release--

(DENVER, CO, 11/20/15) - The Colorado Imam Council (CIC) applauds Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper for welcoming Syrian refugees to Colorado, calls for self-introspection and holding on to values on which America was built.

SEE: Colorado Will Accept Syrian Refugees Hickenlooper Says

The CIC shares in the condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Paris as all civil society does. We must not however forget the many thousands more innocent victims still desperately fleeing Syria with their families and little belonging from the very same extremists who wish to inflict upon them harm.

Governor Hickenlooper's commitment to refugee resettlement efforts in our beautiful state regardless of race and ethnicity, is a refreshing and positive sign that not all lawmakers are vulnerable to the fear-mongering and bigotry that is seen fueling this debate. 

Trust must be placed in our government's vetting and security process of those seeking admittance to the United States under normal conditions as well as those seeking refuge and asylum in US soil. Not a single one of the two million refugees that have entered the US in the last 20 years have been convicted of any act of terrorism. We should not allow fear-mongering and speculation to change our values and behaviors as citizens of this country.

America since it's inception, has a long standing and proud history of welcoming refugees from around the world seeking assistance, freedom from persecution, or just looking to fulfill hopes and dreams in a land of opportunity.

At times like this while contemplating what to do with regards to the question of 'refugees', it behooves us to remember this very poem engraved on our Statue of Liberty that generations of Immigrants read as they arrived to start their new lives.

​"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"


Coordinator - Colorado Imam Council
Imam Shakir Muhammad
[email protected]

​------FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-----


(DENVER, CO, Nov. 16, 2015) – The Colorado Imam Council is appalled by the tragic events that took place over the weekend in France. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims who were from all over the world, and specifically with the people of France. 

We believe, as stated in the Holy Quran, that whoever kills one life, it is as if they have killed all of humanity, and whoever saves one life, it is as if they have saved all of humanity (Chapter 5: Verse 32). We strongly condemn these politically motivated actions perpetrated by extremists who try to justify their crimes in the name of our faith.
 
Islam condemns all forms of brutality, murder, and attacks on the innocent. Muslims, scholars and laypersons the world over, have and will continue to condemn these and any extremists that use Islam to justify their cause. Under Islamic teachings, such actions would be strictly prohibited.
 
The Colorado Imam Council stands in solidarity with the people of France, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, Palestine, and all those facing oppression and injustice worldwide. We pray for healing, peace, and justice for the victims. We also echo the voices that call for an end to all violence against the innocent in every corner of the world. We pray for an end to all destructive forces that try to separate us from each other and from our common link that we all share as the children of Adam.

Coordinator - Colorado Imam Council
Imam Shakir Muhammad
[email protected]