Interfaith Council of Imperial Valley

Imperial Valley Press Cover the 9/11 Service Last Night

Below is the article as it appeared in the Imperial Valley Press and written by Eric Galvan.

Muslim Imam Aziz Abdin said the events of Sept. 11, 2001, both saddened him and made him proud.

Abdin said Thursday, before a crowd at the Muslim Mosque in El Centro as part of the Imperial Valley Interfaith Council’s Sept. 11 remembrance, that he was saddened that innocent people were killed for no reason and that terrorists claimed the events were done in the name of God.

“But I was also proud. What makes me proud is the sacrifice made by our heroes, the firefighters and police officers that gave their lives,” Abdin said. “And what also made me proud was the unity of this country. The events never broke the unity of this country.”

The sentiments were echoed throughout the night as people from different religious faiths and differing beliefs gathered to listen to words from those in the Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities.

Imperial Valley College president Ed Gould talked about his memories during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 when he was visiting Grossmont College in El Cajon from his home in Stockton.

He said as the events unfolded, throughout the day he witnessed and was told of rising tensions at Grossmont and at his college at the time in Stockton.

Trying to ease tensions he decided to hold memorial ceremonies to help students and faculty cope.

“What we realized was that it would take some time to heal,” Gould said. “But from that came the recognition that love, not hate, powers the world.”

Dr. Mirza Baig said for as long as she could remember she never covered her head with a traditional Muslim scarf.

But she said following the events of Sept. 11 she decided it was time to start covering her head. That would show her faith and beliefs and allow others to ask questions and help gain a better understanding of the Muslim religion.

“It was as if I was coming out of the closet,” Baig said. “By doing so, I could only hope to improve the understanding of my religion.”

David Oceguera, pastor of the El Centro Seventh-day Adventist Church, offered a prayer before dinner served to those present, saying: “We come together seven years later after such atrocious things happened. … We pray for the heroes. … We pray for the citizens that sacrificed their lives so other could live. … And may justice be served one day.”

Seven Years Later: A 9/11 Memorial Service - Tonight at 6 PM

Seven years ago today, our country was greatly affected by a series of events that were supposed cause us fear, doubt and insecurity. However, what we have seen in the last seven years is that those attacks instead of crippling the people of this country, has only brought us together and made us stronger.  People of all faiths and ethnicities were affected.  Seven years have passed since the atrocities of September 11 and we at the Imperial Valley Interfaith Council want to make sure that we do not let our collective memory forget the victims, the families of the victims, the Firefighters, the Police officers, the citizens who all sacrificed to save as many as possible.

If you live in the Imperial Valley, or can you drive here join us tonight at 6 pm at the Imperial Valley Islamic Center for a 9/11 Memorial Service.  We (the Imperial Valley Interfaith Council), have decided to focus the discussion tonight on what we have learned in the last seven years.  Saad Suhail our guest speaker, has a messaged titled "Seven Years Later:  What We've Learned".  The service tonight will begin at 6 pm and will go untill 7 PM.  Directly following the service a traditional Middle Eastern meal will be provided courtesy of the Islamic Center.  Below I will post the order of service for tonight.

Seven Years Later:  A Service of Remembrance

Welcome                                             
Imam Aziz Abdin
Dr. Nuri Baig
Imperial Valley Islamic Center

Prayer for victims and Reading from the Gospels                
Pastor David Oceguera
El Centro Seventh-day Adventist Church

About Ramadan and Reading from the Koran                                           
Sarah Abdin

“Simple Human Caring:  The Universal Solution”
Ed Gould, Ed.D
Imperial Valley College President

“Seven Years Later”                                 
Saad Suhail  PE, PhD
Guest Speaker

Prayer for Peace and Reading from the Torah                              
Judi Klein-Pritchard, MS
Congregation Beth Jacob

Closing
Reverend Suzi Jacobson, Imam Aziz Abdin

Unison Prayer for Peace                           
Randy Carson
Center of Religious Science

Song for the Nation
“ God Bless America”

Interfaith Update

Today, was the monthly meeting for the Imperial Valley Interfaith Council. This is a picture of the official leadership from left to right: Me-Pastor David Oceguera [Secretary], Reverend Suzi Jacobson [President] Imam Aziz Abdin [Vice President], and Judi Klein-Pritchard [Treasurer].

Today's meeting was highly productive.  We were able to discuss and begin the planning process for the events we will have this fall and through the winter. 

At the interfaith council we believe that a key component of peace is education.  So we are committed to initiate dialogue between the different faith communities in the Imperial Valley.  Some of the ways we do this is by having educational seminars on the different faith's practiced in the valley.  So far we have presented on Islam, Judaism and Christianity.  We also pray together as a part of the National Day of Prayer and soon we will also take on projects to serve our local community.  This blog is dedicated to the Interfaith Council and soon we will be having posts written by different members of the council talking about why they are a part of this interfaith council.  Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 2 at 9:30 AM at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in El Cento (The address is 610 S. 10th St).