BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — At a time of trial, Twin Cities Muslims turned to prayer.
“You and I are being tested right now,” Imam Asad Zaman told worshippers at Dar Al-Farooq Center, hours after the massacre at a New Zealand mosque.
“Today is the time for us to hang onto our Muslim identity, to be proud of it,” Zaman continued. “This is the time for courage.”
Dar Al-Farooq has known violence too. A 2017 bombing rocked the Muslim community. Two Illinois men have pleaded guilty for the attack, while another awaits trial.
“We are actually scared, like it's going to happen everywhere,” worshipper Mohamed Omar said after Dar Al-Faroog’s Friday sermon. “We thank the government, the police - they are coming for our protection.”
Bloomington police stepped up patrols at the Mosque on Friday and kept an officer stationed near the entrance to the mosque as worshippers gathered.
“We've established a really good working relationship with Dar Al-Farooq and just wanted to just show some support,” Bloomington Deputy Police Chief Mike Harley said.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is Muslim, was among those taking part in the Friday sermon.
“This is the time to reach out to neighbors, embrace our neighbors, build strong bonds of unity,” Ellison told those gathered at the mosque. “And remember, just four months ago four people were killed in Pittsburgh in a synagogue.”
Dar Al-Farooq’s executive director, Mohamed Omar, was concerned people might stay away Friday, out of fear. Most did not. The mosque was full, as usual.
Still, Masehullah Sahil left his four-year-old son at home, “because of what happened.”
Trust - like healing - will take time and more prayers.