GUEST VIEW: Interfaith community focuses on social justice
Religious and academic authorities came together to speak and inspire others to act on equality and justice for all.
In 2020, as our city and nation were coming to terms with the worst pandemic in recent history, a number of racially charged tragedies have shaken us even further and appear to threaten our integrity more than any physical virus could. Perhaps best personified by events surrounding the death of George Floyd, Americans realized that half a century after the Civil Rights Movement, our nation still harbors grave racial injustices. In light of these events, the Buffalo-Niagara Chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community held speaker-conferences to address disparities in the American social and justice systems.
The conferences were attended by a slew of religious, academic and government leaders. Religious leaders took to scriptural authority to emphasize the importance of equity and justice in God’s eyes. Rabbi Alex Lazarus-Klein representing Judaism pointed to some of the very first words of the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 1:27: And God created man in the image of God, male and female. Jewish theology emphasizes that humanity is spoken of as one individual in this verse to promote peace so ‘one person will not say to another that my progenitor is greater than yours’.
