Prayers and concerns for our fallen soldiers

It is at times like these that the work of The People of Abraham becomes the hardest, but the most necessary.

I, like all of you, have been swept up in the concern for and the upheaval of, the recent attack on our soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas. When it was announced that the belief system of the person responsible for the shootings is Muslim, my heart broke.

I am a Christian Pastor as most of you know, and an apologist for none! Evil is evil, no matter what religious system is followed and no matter what the color or social standing, the perpetrator of evil professes. There are, and shall be, no such excuses offered from our organisation.

But I do pray that the judgement of many, will not be impaired by hatred of our Muslim brothers and sisters who follow the path of Islam.

Already there is a flood of garbage, of falsities and downright lies, of just what Islam is and what the beliefs of those who practice it are. I do know there will be no stopping this, as those who profess to know are nothing if not persistant, in the lies that they spread.

It MUST be remembered that there are one and a half billion followers of Islam in the world and the number of extremeists is but a tiny percentage of them.

We in America and elsewhere are at war with that segment of radicals but NOT the rest of peaceful followers of the Islamic way, one of whom is Mr. Robert Salaam one of the co-founders of this organisation, who I count myself honored and blessed to know.

I also know dozens of loyal Muslims who have, and are, serving this nation well, and honorably, on both fronts of that war, and elsewhere in the world.

We must not allow a kneejerk response to destoy the efforts of so many toward the lasting just peace, that they have sacrificed so much for.

We must not allow hatred to come forth in our country, as it has in the past, through ignorance. We must continue to strive for understanding especially here at home.

So it is with a heavy heart that I tender to those who have lost loved ones and had loved ones injured in this latest example of insanity, my deepest condolences and hope for healing and comfort from, and in, the Lord, God, keeper of all mankind.

Rev. Bruce Holzrichter Sr. People of Abraham, Christians Muslims and Jews.