Police on alert at mosques here
Many mourning New Zealand massacre victims
The Christchurch massacre shook the globe, but in Pittsburgh the resonance was especially deep.
The killings Friday at two mosques in New Zealand came as a stark reminder of the violent acts perpetrated in October against three Jewish congregations in Pittsburgh.
“My initial reaction was going back in my memory from my father’s death to 9/11, and Tree of Life,” said Mizanoor Biswas, chairman of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Biswas was one of many local religious leaders and public officials lamenting yet another hatefueled attack on a religious group, albeit on the other side of the
world. Forty-nine people died in the shootings at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, of the of Tree of Life/Or L’Simcha Congregation, wrote on the congregation’s blog that he “wept at the horror of the massacre in the two mosques in New Zealand, as many of you did.”
The news compelled him, he said, “to relive my personal horror of Oct. 27 as well as meet my expectation that there would be a massacre in another house of worship. The question was never ‘if,’ only ‘when.’ How does one who lived through the horror respond?”
He said there will likely always be “unfathomable acts of violence . ... It’s just that we cannot, we must not, let the evil actions of a small number of people outweigh all of the good people that exist on this planet. Some tarnish can always be polished away. Letting the tarnish remain hides the luster and beauty.”
Pittsburgh police said they stepped up patrols near mosques and other locations as a precautionary measure in the wake of the New Zealand incident.
Department of Public Safety officials said they had been in contact with Islamic leaders about the increased security measures.
“The City of Pittsburgh will protect all houses of worship and the right to freely and safely practice your religion without fear,” the department said in a statement Friday morning.
At least 49 people were killed in the shootings in central Christchurch in an attack that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described as “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.” Officials said that one man in his late 20s had been charged with murder and three others detained; two explosive devices were found attached to a vehicle and were defused by authorities.
The shootings came nearly five months after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. On Oct. 27 a gunman opened fire inside the synagogue, killing 11 worshipers and severely injuring two others in what was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
On that day, “we were added to the long list of communities who have suffered unimaginable loss as the result of ignorance and extremism,” the statement from city law enforcement said.
Pittsburgh officials explained that the city police bureau’s Intel Unit monitors threats to city residents and visitors, and works closely with law enforcement agencies at local, state and federal levels. “Those efforts continue today, as always,” they said.
For some Pittsburghers, it was hard to see the heartache in New Zealand without thinking back to October. There seemed to be at least one thread tying the two tragedies together: The New York Times reported that the gunman, on the website 8chan, uploaded an image titled “screw your optics,” a phrase used in the last online post of Robert Bowers, 46, of Baldwin Borough, prior to the Tree of Life massacre, for which he faces federal and state charges.
“The H word has struck again,” Rabbi Myers wrote. “While we are housed in temporary surroundings, we will not let H drive us from our home.” He urged others to reach out to Islamic neighbors. “They are in pain and need your comfort and reassurance that they are not alone.”
He noted that after Oct. 27 he was comforted by “the outpouring of love and support from all good people throughout the world – all races, creeds, colors, sexual orientation, and ages . ... I ask you to share my simple words with others, to reach out not only to the injured communities, but to your Islamic neighbors as well. We might not be able to totally rid the world of evil, but we must do our part to overwhelm it with goodness. I fervently pray I don’t have to write this column ever again.”
The three congregations affected in the Oct. 27 massacre — Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light — issued a joint statement that members were “profoundly saddened” by the Christchurch massacre, and that “we grieve with our fellow sons and daughters of Abraham on the senseless loss of life due to senseless hatred, which is an abomination in a civilized society.
“We stand beside our Muslim brothers and sisters and mourn alongside the families and friends who have lost loved ones in this unconscionable act of violence,” the statement continued.
Early Friday, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto joined leaders from around the world in expressing condolences and condemnation following the deadly attacks in New Zealand.
Mr. Peduto sent a message of sympathy, saying “the people of Pittsburgh are with you.”
Gov. Tom Wolf ordered flags flown at half-staff in honor of the victims, declaring “a moral obligation to stand against it and support our Muslim friends and neighbors.”
Bishop David A. Zubik of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh pledged Pittsburgh’s “prayers for those killed and injured in this terrible tragedy, for comfort and consolation for their loved ones, and for peace in the hearts of all affected by today’s events.” He also offered “our support to the Muslim community in Southwestern Pennsylvania.”
“Together with so many others, my heart hurts to learn of yet another mass shooting in a place of worship, this time two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The senseless taking of innocent life is only made more disturbing when people are targeted because of their beliefs as they gather to pray,” he wrote in a statement.
“Our local community knows all too well the shock and horror of a massacre such as this. Yet, an act intended to tear people apart can instead build up a community that is ‘Stronger than Hate.’ I hope that the Muslim community in Christchurch will know the love and support of their neighbors near and far in the face of the evil they have experienced.”
He added: “May civil discourse and mutual respect be the hallmarks of this place we call home.”
“The scourge of ethnic and religious hate crimes must be fought unequivocally from all nations,” said state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, in a statement responding to the Christchurch shootings. “The communities of Pittsburgh and Squirrel Hill stand with the people of Christchurch. Houses of faith are sacred and intimate, and hate-driven attacks on these places are attacks on all of humanity.”
He also urged people here to keep an eye on their neighbors. “Community heals, and tragedy awakens trauma. Mental health services are available through Jewish Family and Community Services and The Center for Victims.”