Interfaith Gathering at San Jose Islamic Center

Bay Area Muslims gathered for Friday prayers at San Jose’s Evergreen Islamic Center on May 22, four days after a deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Christians and Jews from the South Bay’s Abrahamic Alliance stood outside the San Jose mosque with signs as worshippers arrived, according to NBC Bay Area. The gathering came as Muslim communities across California responded to the San Diego attack with prayers, vigils and added security. CAIR’s Bay Area chapter said separate interfaith vigils were also planned elsewhere in the region for the San Diego victims. ### Why were people gathering at the San Jose mosque on Friday? Friday prayers at Evergreen Islamic Center drew worshippers in San Jose at the end of a week shaken by the San Diego shooting. NBC Bay Area reported that Muslims walked into mosques across the Bay Area on Friday and were met outside by Christians and Jews standing in unity. Monday’s shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego killed three members of that community, according to NBC 7 San Diego. The attack prompted concern at mosques around the state and a visible show of support in the South Bay as congregants headed into prayer. ### Who organized the interfaith show of support? The Abrahamic Alliance, a South Bay interfaith group, put out the call after the San Diego shooting, NBC Bay Area reported. The group’s website describes its mission as bringing Jews, Christians and Muslims together for peacebuilding and service. An Abrahamic Alliance page for its “Solidarity Stand With Muslims” campaign lists Evergreen Islamic Center at 2486 Ruby Ave. in San Jose as one of the participating sites. The listing names Eva Lippman of Congregation Sinai and the Jewish Community Relations Council as the community leader for the Evergreen gathering. ### What did support look like outside Evergreen Islamic Center? Christians and Jews stood outside Evergreen Islamic Center holding signs as Muslim worshippers arrived for prayers, NBC Bay Area reported. A Facebook post tied to both the Abrahamic Alliance and Evergreen Islamic Center described the San Jose event as a “solidarity” action and said the Muslim community was “deeply grateful and touched.” Evergreen Islamic Center is located in East San Jose and serves a broad Muslim community in the South Bay, according to the mosque’s website. The mosque’s public site lists regular religious services, youth programs and community events at its Ruby Avenue campus. ### How did the San Diego shooting shape the response in the Bay Area? San Diego police and federal investigators said the May 18 shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego left three people dead, and NBC 7 San Diego identified the victims as Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad. Episcopal News Service reported that interfaith leaders gathered in San Diego in the hours after the attack to stand with Imam Taha Hassane and the mosque community. Bay Area Muslim institutions also moved to reassure worshippers and show a public security presence. ABC7 reported in an earlier period of heightened concern that officers had been stationed outside Evergreen Islamic Center, and CAIR has said visible preparation is part of protecting worshippers at houses of worship. ### What happens next in the Bay Area response? CAIR-SFBA said Bay Area Muslim and interfaith leaders would hold community vigils for the victims of the San Diego shooting in the days after the attack. A CAIR announcement listed clergy, educators and youth speakers for events in the East Bay, including participants from Cornerstone Fellowship, Lynwood United Methodist Church and the Dublin Unified School District. The next steps in San Jose and around the Bay Area are likely to remain public and interfaith. Evergreen Islamic Center continues to post community programming through its website, while the Abrahamic Alliance keeps a public roster of solidarity actions at South Bay mosques and other faith sites.