Aug 15, 2017 1 min read

There are no words to describe the senseless and barbaric act of violence committed in Charlotesville, Va., on Saturday. Such loss of innocent life is always tragic.

I am reminded of a quote coined by the Third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, “Love for all, hatred for none.”

We in the Ahmadiyya community condemn the perpertrators of this violence in the strongest terms, and show our solidarity with the families of the victims. Such random acts of violence carried out by hoodlums are not synonymous with the majority of Americans who are loyal and peace-loving citizens regardless of caste, creed, color, and religion.

While there is no place for hateful rhetoric in the United States, and extremists always fail to unite mankind, it is time to rise above our bigotries to forward the narrative of humanity and not extremism.

Nayyar Ahmed

Pittsburgh

Ahmed is a postdoctoral research associate at Children’s Hospital Pittsburgh and is a member of the Muslim Writers Guild of America.