Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Tragedy at Virginia Tech



OVER THIRTY KILLED IN VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING RAMPAGE


(Los Angeles, CA - 4/17/07) – More than thirty people were killed today at Virginia Tech, a university on the Eastern coast of the United States. Officials are describing the horrific incident as the deadliest shooting rampage on a college campus in American history.


If anyone slays a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew all people. And if anyone saves a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all people. Qur'an 5:32

Muslim Student Association-West, a grassroots coalition of Muslim student groups across the West Coast, extends it deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and the students and faculty of the campus. Our thoughts are with you during these difficult times.

We encourage all students to work with their campuses to ensure the safety of everyone, and pray that Allah protects our campuses and societies from such criminal acts in the future.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I couldnt help it, I was getting so many emails about what happened at VT. So many group invitiations to remember people who were killed.

So I began facebooking them. I wanted to find them on facebook, tell them somehow that they will be missed, that their deaths were tragic that I wish I could bring them back and they could continue doing what they had planned on doing.

I guess the face of terrorism has no description. Its quite ugly and quite violent. Here was an act of sheer terror, that destroyed the lives of so many people and these people were like me, they had facebook accounts, they had their groups of friends, their notes, their photo albums they had all sorts of hopes and dreams. They probably had a five year plan worked out and posted on their bedroom wall much like me.

Now they are dead. this isnt the first time i have had to deal with death. But this seems so different, because it seems unexpected, it seems like its not a place where such a thing happens- you go to school to learn, to develope to challenge, not to die.

Then again, as a Muslim, I believe death is at all times and any times and one should always live ones life so that when death comes there is nothing to fear but only displeasing God. But look these people are dead. They are gone, and now we have to deal with it. What good is all our homeland security if we can not even protect ourselves in insitutions of learning- I am reminded of the Palestinian who go to school, or the day the suicide bomber exploded himself in the Cafeteria of a University where Muslims, Jews and Christians all went to school together or in Iraq the daily bombings- that reality really hits home with these events in VT.

But my question remains....what happens to your facebook account when you die?

Like everything you leave it behind except for the memory of the good and bad you did, that you take with you to the grave.

Rest in peace to all those who died in VT. For the survivors, their family, I pray that God increases you in strength and fortifies you as you struggle to live with only the memories of your loved ones. I ask God to give you solace in the fact that one day you will join them and be re-united.

Amin.