2019 -- H 5882

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LC002218

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING PROFOUND SYMPATHY ON THE TRAGIC LOSS OF FIFTY LIVES AT

MOSQUES IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND ON FRIDAY MARCH 15, 2019

     Introduced By: Representatives Kislak, Corvese, Cassar, Cortvriend, and Ranglin-
Vassell

     Date Introduced: March 20, 2019

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, It is with great sadness that this House of Representatives has learned of the

passing of Naeem Rashid and his son Talha Naeem, Ramiz Arifbhai Vora, and his father Asif

Vora, Khaled Alhaj Mustafa, and his eldest son Hamza Mustafa, Zeeshan Raza and his parents,

Ghulam Hussain and Karam Bibi, Abdul Fattah Qasem al-Daqqah, Abdullahi Dirie, Abdus

Samad, Ahmed Jamal al-Din Abdul Ghani, Ali Eisa Houry, Ali El-Madani, Amjad Hamid, Ansi

Alibava, Areeb Ahmed, Ashraf al Morsi, Ashraf Masri, Atta Elayyan, Daoud Nabi, Farhaj Ahsan,

Hafiz Musa Patel, Haroon Mahmood, Hosna Ara Parvin, Hussain Al-Umari, Junaid Ismail,

Junaid Mortara, Kamel Darwish, Lilik Abdul Hamid, Linda Armstrong, Maheboob Haroon,

Matiullah Safi, Mohsen Al-Harbi, Mojammel Hoq, Mounir Sulaiman, Mucad Ibrahim, Osama

Adnan Abu Kowik, Ozair Kadir, Sayyad Milne, Sohail Shahid, Syed Areeb Ahmed, Syed

Jahandad Ali, Husna Ahmed, Abdulkadir Elmi, Hussein Moustafa, Muse Nur Aale, Zakaria

Bhutan, Taria Omar and Ashraf Ali; and

     WHEREAS, In a shocking, brutal assault, a gunman walked into two Christchurch

mosques during prayers, and brutally killed fifty innocent people and injured many more on

Friday, March 15, 2019; and

     WHEREAS, Those killed were new fathers, loving mothers, adored sisters and brothers,

cherished aunts and uncles, best friends, teachers, engineers, and admired colleagues. They were

from many countries and varied walks of life. What they shared in common was their faith and

their innocence; and

     WHEREAS, Houses of worship should always be places of peace, refuge, and reflection,

and never places of fear and hatred; and

     WHEREAS, The terror and tragedy of a hate-filled mass murder has also been visited on

our nation and many others including the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on

October 27, 2018, and in Charleston at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17,

2015; and

     WHEREAS, These fifty men, women and children, the youngest of whom was only

three, enriched the lives of all who knew them and they will be dearly missed. The memory of

their lives will live on in the memories of everyone fortunate enough to have known them; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby expresses profound sympathy on the tragic loss of fifty innocent

lives at the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this House hereby extends our support to the Muslim community of

Rhode Island and stands together against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, racism and hatred around

the world, and looks to build community and strength with each other throughout Rhode Island

and across the globe; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Amjad Kinjawi, President of the Rhode Island

Council for Muslim Advancement, and Mufti Ikam al Haqq, the Imam of Masjid al Islam.

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