In light of the recent vandalism of the Ahram Halal Market in Portland, we, an interfaith group of clergy in the Greater Portland community, join our voices to express comfort to and solidarity with Maine’s Muslim community.

We include the two signers of this letter, as well as the Rev. Maria Anderson, St. Ansgar Lutheran Church, Portland; Rabbi Carolyn Braun, Temple Beth El, Portland; Rabbi Joshua Chasan; the Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, HopeGateWay Church, Portland; the Rev. Sara Ewing-Merrill, HopeGateWay Church; the Rev. Jane Field, executive director, Maine Council of Churches; the Rev. James Fletcher, Woodfords Congregational Church, Portland; the Rev. Carolyn Lambert, Woodfords Congregational Church; the Rev. Alyssa Lodewick, The BTS Center, Portland; the Rev. Reed Loy, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Portland; the Rev. Ben Shambaugh, St. Luke’s Cathedral; the Rev. Dr. Margaret Sheffield, Clark Memorial United Methodist, Portland; Deacon Daniel Sheridan, Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine, and the Rev. Lawrence B. Weeks, Trinity Episcopal Church and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Portland.

As clergy representing these faith communities, we oppose violence of any kind directed at our Muslim brothers and sisters and stand in support of them, their businesses, their places of worship and their place in our community. The Scripture that many of us share teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves and we celebrate the participation of the Muslim community in our broader community.

We believe that responding to attacks on our Muslim brothers and sisters is the responsibility of all of us, regardless of our individual faith traditions. It is our hope that this statement of support and solidarity sends a message, loud and clear, to our Muslim neighbors: We celebrate that you are part of our community and we will speak up and protect your civil rights and your freedoms.

Rabbi Jared H. Saks

Congregation Bet Ha’am

South Portland

The Rev. Richard L. Rasner

St. Luke’s Cathedral

Portland