Pray for Orlando

I attended an interfaith prayer meeting at the First United Methodist Church at Orlando on 14 June. The meeting titled 'Pray for Orlando' was convened to honor the people killed at the Pulse Club on 12 June. The senseless shooting at the club killed 49 people and injured more than 50. Most of the killed were between the age group of 20 to 30. They were young people, brimming with life and passion.

More than 300 people from LGBTQ community were celebrating their community values at the club, not far from the church. In the early morning hours when they were saying bye to each other the shooter entered and started indiscriminate shooting. He was determined to kill as many people as he could, and was, according to one survivor, shooting multiple times a victim to ensure death. He was oblivious as to what the people he was killing were thinking, they were human beings as he was, and they were part of society with family and friends who loved them.

The shooter hated LGBTQ community. One may not like a person from that community, but no one has right to kill them. In a liberal society, divergent values coexist. The basic minimum in a liberal democratic society is that a thing is permissible if it is within the ambit of law. Perhaps morality plays a role in guiding social conduct. But beyond legality and morality, there is no restraint. Even, in case of morality, it is the society as a whole that determines what constitutes morality at a given point of time. But, legal principles are clearly laid out, and whoever violates them is punished.

The shooter’s father told the media that during his visit to Miami beach with his wife and three year old son, he could see two gay people indulging in some private act, and that enraged him. He had right to get discontented, but not to kill. He could have expressed his differences in writing, or maybe through a peaceful protest. In the US, the same sex marriage is legal and the community enjoy fundamental rights as other members of the society. The best thing could have been to appreciate the difference, instead of committing the heinous crime.

The shooter also committed to radical Islamic group, Islamic State. As per reports, he called the police and admitted his allegiance to the IS. A combination of religious extremism and hate forms the deadliest force to suffocate human values of decency and civility, and makes the adherent a devil. One can imagine the level of moral derangement of this individual.

I am strongly against violence. If we can not give life to a person, we have no right to take away his life. As I was watching family members and friends of the victims coming to the stage and reading name and age of the victims, and pasting their pictures on the board I could feel their sorrow. Some of them could hardly hide their tears while reading the name of their loved ones. These young people, who were killed, had dreams. They had promises. I feel sadder for their family members and relatives. It is easy to describe a situation, but the true pain can only be felt by the closed ones. Empathy is a virtue, but it can not offer solace to the person who has lost his or her loved one. It may be helpful in the sense that it affirms human love and understanding.

About one thousand people participated in the event. Almost all religions of the world were represented – Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism. The representatives of all these religions chanted prayers from their scriptures. There was silence all over, with the participants brooding over the horrible incident, and praying in a united voice for peace and harmony. We all prayed for peace for the departed souls, and promised to stand in solidarity against inhuman acts and minds. We also chanted in unison ‘Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Allelujah.’

49 innocent lives were lost.  The shooter was also killed, but the minds promoting hatred still survive. They are flourishing in various parts of the world. These forces need to be contained. Here, the role of international actors including states and organizations is crucial. Unless there is unity among these actors to tackle these forces, it will be difficult to contain them.

I stop with the closing hymn at the interfaith service:

Let there be peace on earth, let it begin with me; let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be.

With God our creator, children all are we. Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me; let this be the moment now. With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow; to take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.