Hosai Mojaddidi – Our Children Are Looking for the Helpers

			Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim in the
name of God, the Most Gracious,
		

			the Most Merciful. I greet you all
with the universal greeting of
		

			peace As Salam wa Alikum. What?
Well, then again,
		

			dear respected guests, esteemed
panelists, and beloved community
		

			members. I'd like to personally as
well as on behalf of the MCC,
		

			express my deepest gratitude to
each and every one of you for
		

			being here today.
		

			Earlier this morning, I was at
another local mosque, the San
		

			Ramon Valley Islamic Center, where
I spoke to a large group of middle
		

			and high school students during
their Sunday school program, about
		

			this recent tragedy.
		

			Prior to my talk, the students
were given index cards and asked
		

			to submit questions or comments
about the attack, how they were
		

			feeling, and their reflections in
general. There were several
		

			thoughtful comments and questions
about the attack itself, the
		

			motivations of the terrorists, the
victims, and their families, their
		

			suffering, and how we as a
community can better protect
		

			ourselves from future attacks. As
I was going through each card, and
		

			I looked at at their sweet and
innocent faces, and how deeply
		

			puzzled and conflicted they were,
by how someone could do something
		

			so heinous. I had to fight back my
tears.
		

			Our children have sad, have sadly
inherited a world that is rife
		

			with confusion, hatred, and
violence. Their normal is nothing
		

			like our normal when we were their
age, we were busy being children
		

			oblivious to the darkness of the
world. While they are children who
		

			have been born into it, and are
surrounded by every day,
		

			like ships that are sailing
aimlessly and lost at sea, they
		

			too, are desperately looking for
the light. And that is why the
		

			work that we do matters so much,
whether we are fighting on the
		

			frontlines of this battle
politically, reaching people
		

			through education and dialogue, or
we're protecting the beautiful
		

			souls that come to our respective
spiritual centers for guidance. We
		

			are all shining our light in one
way or another. But when we come
		

			together, as we are right now, in
this moment, and in this sacred
		

			space, and we put our lights
together, we create a beautiful
		

			kaleidoscope of different colors,
and shapes that reflects stronger,
		

			brighter and has a much farther
reach.
		

			When we stand together and speak
in one unified and beautiful
		

			voice, just as we have today, we
effectively drown out all the
		

			noise and ugliness born out of
hatred and violence.
		

			In the aftermath of these horrific
events that have become far too
		

			common in our broken world, we may
not be first responders in the
		

			technical sense, but we are
certainly part of the triage team
		

			spiritually speaking, many people
look to us for strength for help,
		

			and for healing. May God the Most
Compassionate, the most merciful,
		

			give us renewed and continued
strength and patience to help as
		

			many souls and heal as many hearts
as we possibly can. I will end
		

			with one of my favorite quotes
from one of the most beloved
		

			television personalities ever that
we all know, Mr. Rogers, who once
		

			said, When I was a boy, and I
would see scary things in the
		

			news, my mother would say to me,
look for the helpers, you will
		

			always find people who are
helping. May God always count us
		

			among the helpers, and may He
increase our numbers so that our
		

			light eclipses whatever darkness
may come our way. Thank you and
		

			may God bless you all.