Building bonds through friendship

RE: Quebec mosque attack To our Muslim Brothers and Sisters: On behalf of the Hamilton Interfaith Peace Group and the Gandhi Peace Festival committee, I express our deep sadness at the senseless killing and harm done to our Muslim brothers at the mosque in Quebec City. While as of now we do not know the motive that led to the attack, we utterly reject the hatred and callous attitude to the sacredness of life that this act expressed. Mahatma Gandhi, who was himself assassinated through an act of hatred, once said, “I found the nearest approach to truth is through love.” The way to transform our attitudes is not through thought alone, but through the active expression of the transformative power of love — not just for those near and dear to us, but extended outward. Please, dialogue with your neighbours of other faiths, share meals with them, do acts of service with them. Therein you build bonds of friendship and trust. “We should, by living the life according to our lights, share the best with one another, thus adding to the sum total of human effort to reach God,” Gandhi advised. Anne M. Pearson, chair, HIPG and the GPF committee, Dundas