Location
Dar Al Hijrah, a mosque in our community, recently had been receiving harassment from protesters who approached Muslims who were preparing to cross the street to attend Friday worship at their mosque. The protesters gathered on church property (the church was not affiliated with them and told the protesters to leave their property when the protesters were discovered). Not satisfied with harassing the adults, they began directing unseemly comments to the children attending Friday prayers with their parents. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik ibn Seale shared the information with Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross and the Interfaith Communities for Dialogue (ICD) who shared it in turn with Fairfax County police and members of the ICD.
The Fairfax County East Spiritual Assembly responded by sending the Imam a letter of support with a prayer for the unity of religions with copies to Ms. Gross and the ICD. One of the steps that was planned as a result of a meeting about the issue was an agreement to hold an open prayer meeting on Friday, September 11 at the mosque following the regular Friday sermon. Representatives from several interfaith communities participated in the meeting including Baha'is who attended on behalf of our Baha'i community.
Imam Abdul-Malik ibn Seale said that it is the first time such a meeting had been held in the mosque at the Friday worship service. In addition to representatives from the Interfaith Communities for Dialogue, there were also three representatives from the Fairfax County Clergy and Leadership Council: one each from the Jewish, Christian community, and Bahá'í communites. Delegate Alfonso Lopez from the 49th District in Virginia (which covers Seven Corners and Bailey's Crossroads) spoke on behalf of Supervisor Gross who could not attend.
Before the service, Imam Abdul-Malik ibn Seale asked the guests to join him in an impromptu act: planting U. S. flags along the perimeter of the mosque. He provided three boxes of flags which were set up along the sidewalk.
During the sermon, Imam Abdul-Malik mentioned that all religions worship the same God. Following his remarks, he invited the representatives to each say a prayer for peace. The prayers from the Bahá'ís, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Sikhs were well received. Several people who were leaving after the sermon and prayers thanked the participants including a father and his daughter.
Here are the links to the flag planting, the prayers and the sermon: