Reposted from hpherald.com
This Sunday, Feb. 14, Muslim community members and leaders from across Chicago will convene at First Unitarian Church, 5650 S. Woodlawn Ave., to speak out against the city’s continuing tragedy of gun violence.
Community group Sirat Chicago and charitable organization the Zakat Foundation of America are hosting the event, which begins at 2:30 p.m. Both organizations are hoping to use the event to raise funds for programs and resources in the Chicago neighborhoods hit hardest by gun violence.
Attendees of the meeting will recite “The Prayer of The Oppressed,” a 17th century poem that advocates for compassion and humility as alternatives to violence.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. insisted that any nonviolent camping requires both self-purification as well as direct action,” said Amal Ali, outreach manager for the Zakat Foundation. “That is why we are organizing this communal gathering of reflection to turn our palms upwards in hopeful prayer while still urging continued action to uproot violence from Chicago’s distressed communities.”
The event is free and open to the public.
