The MAE Organization for the Homeless and AHOPE (Americans Helping Others ProspEr) held their first annual “banquet luncheon event” Saturday in Cathedral Square. For two hours the groups served delicious Middle Eastern style meal and more traditional pasta to the homeless and hungry of Providence.
About four dozen people managed to serve about 300 meals in two hours. During that time it was not our difference that mattered, it was our shared humanity.
AHOPE is a volunteer based organization that was established to assist new refugees coming to Rhode Island with little to their name. Since its inception 6 months ago, A HOPE has been able to help over 30 families, over 150 people, resettle in RI. The MAE Organization is a spiritually based but not religious organization that seeks to serve the homeless population in Rhode Island.
For the effort in Cathedral Square these groups were assisted by the Islamic School of Rhode Island, Masjid al-Islam, the Universalist Unitarian Church, Rhode Island Belleza Latina, Rhode Island Miss Galaxy, and others.
The organizations hope to offer another meal like this sometime in the spring.
]]>It is sad how some people cannot seem to let go of their irrational hatred of other people. In recent months we have seen a faceless outfit called Voice of the Renaissance litter East Greenwich with their flyers calling to preserve the White race, as if people of color who are building themselves up are a threat to White people everywhere (it’s not). Last February the Islamic School of Rhode Island was vandalized by someone who spray-painted Islamophobic messages on their building, one making his intentions very clear: “Now this is a hate crime!” And we all know by now how Donald Trump refused to rebuke a supporter who went on an anti-Muslim rant at his town hall event in Rochester, New Hampshire. Thing is, these things left unchecked may lead to even more extreme actions towards a community in the future, be it acts of violence or legislation that stifles rights. That is why when it happens those communities come out to build a resistance against it.
Those that engage in such behavior however are not going to be content with just tagging a school, throwing around flyers or ranting at a presidential candidate. That doesn’t get results. They still have to organize and network with people who can advance their hatred to the point that they see things happen for them, and they are able to reclaim a position they once had over the people they hate just a few short years ago. When they do that, it takes even more vigilance to fight back because this is when they are at their most dangerous.
On Saturday, Oct. 31 (Halloween) a group with a rather benign name called the National Policy Institute (NPI) will hold a conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. While not directly connected to the Voice of the Renaissance, they share the same ideals. NPI is a promoter of eugenics, believing that blacks are genetically inferior to whites, has waged campaigns to make the Republican Party exclusively white, and is trying to build alliances with white supremacists and fascists in Europe. In fact, their leader, Richard Spencer, who has called for a white ethno-state, is not allowed to enter much of Europe for the next two years after he attempted to hold a similar conference in Budapest, Hungary. Undaunted, he continues to hold conferences in the DC area, often during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) where he tries to build outreach to attendees, many of them young people, with some success. That means he is attempting to create a new generation of racist legislators who will keep his brand of hatred alive.
The speakers at the NPI conference include anti-Semites, Islamophobes and Men’s Rights Activists (MRAs) that will speak to political operatives, academics and others in a setting that unlike the average neo-Nazi rally, will give them the opportunity to network and organize behind closed doors. One of the speakers is part of a group that has the slogan “Ni keffieh, ni kippa”.(“Neither [Palestinian] keffieh, nor yarmulke”). They are only one of several similar conferences happening all around the country. Another one happening just one week later in Baltimore is sponsored by the H.L. Mencken Club, which is, curiously enough, one of the groups co-founded by NPI’s Richard Spencer.
They very seldom get opposition, mostly because they make themselves look like nothing more than your average conservative organization that doesn’t set off any alarms unless someone delves into what they are about, but unfortunately for them, that is what is beginning to happen. There are people mobilizing to oppose the NPI conference by calling the National Press Club – where NPI has held two other events – and sending them letters calling for them to shut this hate conference down. Failing that, they plan to be out there on Halloween, letting the hatemongers know that they are not welcome.
Regardless of what face hate puts on, we need to recognize it for what it is, and once we do keep it from hurting the greater society. We have seen what it has done to generations in this country and abroad, and although it is cliché, there is something to be said for how in this day and age this approach to life is still something palatable to some circles.
Let’s break those circles.
[Check out the One People’s Project here.]
]]>“It doesn’t appear to be juveniles,” Mageira said after a press conference at the school on Tuesday.
FBI agent Elizabeth Rosato said her office is “conducting the civil rights investigation right now.” US Attorney Peter Neronha said,”if the conduct is motivated based on ethnicity or race or other protected classes it’s considered to be a hate crime.” To Nerhona’s knowledge, this is the first instance of a hate crime against the Islamic community in Rhode Island.
Law enforcement officers answered questions for the media after a group of religious and other faith leaders gave prepared comments to show solidarity with the Muslim school that was defaced by vandalism after holding a vigil for the three North Carolina Muslims who were killed last week.
“I just want this person to understand how much this hurts,” said Himly Bakri, president of the board of trustees of the Islamic School of Rhode Island, as he was flanked by faith leaders during the press conference.
“To the person who did this, I want to say this to him, or her, we have nothing but prayers for you,” said Mufti Ikram, a Muslim imam, or prayer leader, from Smithfield who works closely with the school. “If you did this to divide us, you failed miserably. If you did this to unite us, you have succeeded.”
They were joined by Rev. Nickolas Knisely, bishop of the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island, Rev. Don Anderson, of the Rhode Island Council of Churches, Steve Ahlquist, president of the Humanists of Rhode Island and Rabbi Sarah Mack, who called the vandalism a “flagrant desecration.”
Outside the school’s gymnasium in West Warwick, there was still spray-painted vandalism on the school that read, “Islam pigs”, “Allah is a pedophile”, “Fuck Muhammad” and “Now this is a hate crime.” One message said “Die pigs” and was written backwards on a window so it could be read from inside the school.” [Pictures below]
“When I was physically here seeing the graffiti on the doors, words can’t describe,” Bakri told me after the press conference. “It had a very personal impact to me. It’s one thing to be distant and seeing something in a picture. It’s another thing to be physically present and seeing the writing of someone who did this. It was just unbelievable.”
There are 160 students at the Islamic School of Rhode Island, which serves students in kindergarten through 8th grade. It’s been in Rhode Island for ten years and became accredited last year. Bakrim said this is the first time the school experienced any such issues.
“It was a complete surprise to everybody,” he said. “For our students I hope they come out of this knowing this is the kind of world that exists today unfortunately, and that they come out wiser and learn how to handle this and hopefully learn from all of us here today … that we should all work together to be on the forefront of stopping this where ever it happens.”
Governor Gina Raimondo said yesterday, “Rhode Island was founded on the tolerance of all beliefs. This hateful act at the Islamic School of Rhode Island has no place in our state. My thoughts and support are with the school and the Muslim community in RI today.”
Senator Jack Reed said, “I strongly condemn the vandalism of the Islamic School of Rhode Island. Our state was founded on religious freedom and we are strengthened by our diversity. There is no justification and no place for this type of intolerance and bigotry in our community. I urge anyone with information about the incident to contact the proper authorities.”
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said, “This shameful incident is completely at odds with our state’s founding principles, and I hope the perpetrators will soon be brought to justice. To the families and staff who were affected, please know that Rhode Island stands with you and supports you.”
]]>“Rhode Island was founded on the tolerance of all beliefs,” Raimondo said in a statement. “This hateful act at the Islamic School of Rhode Island has no place in our state. My thoughts and support are with the school and the Muslim community in RI today.”
One day after holding a vigil for three slain Muslim students in North Carolina, vandals defaced this Islamic school in West Warwick. “Now this is a hate crime” was spray-painted on the front door. The issue has drawn national media attention as it occurs after the triple murder in North Carolina and the suspected arson of a Muslim school in Houston, Texas.
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In response to the vandalism, the Humanists of Rhode Island released this statement, which puts the vandalism that happened here in Rhode Island in the context of recent hate crimes against Muslim Americans:
]]>The Humanists of Rhode Island (HRI) decry the recent vandalism of the Islamic School of Rhode Island. We wish to join our voices with the chorus of citizens, religious or not, denouncing violence and hate crimes that serve only to divide our community.
Steve Ahlquist, President of the Humanists of Rhode Island, said, “Roger Williams, the founder of our state, expressly invited all people of good conscience to participate in our secular government, regardless of their religious beliefs. Ours was the first democratic government to expressly invite Pagans, Jews, Muslims and atheists to be free citizens in the new world. This is our heritage. It is a legacy we should protect and be proud of.”
The Humanists of Rhode Island believe that recent events, such the murder of the three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the burning of the Islamic School in Houston, Texas and now the vandalism of the Islamic School here in Rhode Island, demonstrate the need for a renewed commitment to our values of inclusion, freedom of conscience, and civil discourse.
In this spirit, the Humanists of Rhode Island stand in solidarity with the Islamic community to oppose hate and violence.