Synagogue attack can be a unifier

Re An old hatred is on the rise, Editorial, Oct. 30 I am a Muslim. I stand in full solidarity with my Jewish brethren who were the victims of a heinous and despicable attack in their synagogue in Pittsburgh. There is absolutely no place for such kind of hate in our society where places of worship are the target of such horrific violence. In the wake of a tragedy like this, it's important for all faith and non-faith groups to come together and condemn these acts. And it's important to condemn white supremacy just as we condemn other extremist ideologies when they inspire such atrocities. The perpetrator's social media reveals that he was a strong believer in conspiracies that came from rhetoric presented by U.S. President Trump and some media outlets. This incident shows the dangers of spreading such rhetoric where hate is used to exploit the emotions of frustrated people. We must do better than this. It is also the responsibility of the media to refrain from giving hateful rhetoric. Fasih Malik, Calgary Let us not see the murderous crime at Tree of Life synagogue solely as another outburst in the neverending violence against one faith. The motives will ever be alien and abhorrent to us, and understood only by those who revel in bigotry and find solace in hatred. Sorrowfully, we have seen it all before, be it an attack against race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or whatever variance a madman envisions. They are brutal atrocities that come from the deep and ugly pits that are ignorance and fanaticism. The bonds of mutual respect and empathy that bind our society demand we combat those depths when they are met. Mike Brown, Burlington