Last Sunday, the joy of Easter celebrations worldwide gave way to shock, horror and grief as we learned of the attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that left hundreds dead and injured.

St. Bonaventure University and the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies wish to express their heartfelt condolences and prayers to the people of Sri Lanka. 

We decry and mourn the loss of innocent lives at the hands of extremists who seek to create division and foster violence between religious and ethnic communities. It is the latest heinous example of attacks upon people of faith in churches, mosques and synagogues. Such acts are an affront to God, His Messengers, and Revelations. The Holy Qur’an explicitly states that Muslims must act to protect “monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques wherein the name of God is greatly remembered” (al-Hajj 22.40).

In February, Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayyeb, together signed a “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” In that document, they stated:

We resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood. These tragic realities are the consequence of a deviation from religious teachings…We thus call upon all concerned to stop using religions to incite hatred, violence, extremism and blind fanaticism, and to refrain from using the name of God to justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism and oppression. We ask this on the basis of our common belief in God who did not create men and women to be killed or to fight one another, nor to be tortured or humiliated in their lives and circumstances. God, the Almighty, has no need to be defended by anyone and does not want His name to be used to terrorize people.

In this year in which Franciscan communities worldwide are commemorating the 800^th anniversary of the peaceful encounter between St. Francis and the Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil (1219), we call upon Christians and Muslims to unite with other faith communities to witness to our God who is Peace, Justice and Love.

Javaid Siddiqi, president of the Islamic Circle of North America, has called for a “Day of Solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka” on Friday, April 26, 2019, to be observed by Muslims as they gather for midday prayer. “It’s time,” he writes, “we unite against all those who subscribe to the ideology of hate and bigotry. It’s time we show solidarity with those who have been the victims of these atrocities regardless of religion, race or color.”

As people of faiths – of different faiths – let us together commit anew to being instruments of God’s peace.

Fr. Michael D. Calabria, O.F.M.
Director, Center for Arab and Islamic Studies           

Amina Golden-Arabaty
President, SBU Muslim Students and Allies

Dr. Dennis R. DePerro
President, St. Bonaventure University