The Niagara Foundation condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the mindless and brutal attack of a mob of extremists against the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Libya. We abhor and deeply mourn the resulting deaths of four American civil servants, including the widely respected U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.
As an organization founded by Muslims and inspired by the teachings of M. Fethullah Gülen, we feel a profound sense of revulsion and betrayal whenever even a few people claiming to be Muslims become so misguided that they fail to realize that, by engaging in acts of violence against innocent fellow human beings, it is they who are disgracing the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, far more than the hateful and equally misguided people who seek to incite violence by denigrating, in the crudest and most provocative of ways, what is sacred to others.
In the immediate aftermath of the eleventh anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, 2001, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those whose lives were lost in Libya, as well as the victims of violence in other places in the world where ignorance and fear blind people to the divine gift of our common humanity.
As an organization dedicated to intercultural and interfaith understanding and collaboration for the sake of the human family, tragic events such as this can only strengthen our resolve to continue our work laying the foundation for a more just and peaceful future through the cultivation of relationships of mutual understanding and respect among people of different cultures and faiths.