Moment of Silence in Honor of Victims of Shooting At Islamic Center of San Diego

Floor Speech

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Ms. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the lives of Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, who went by AbulEzz, and Nadir Awad who were murdered at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday, a holy day in the final and most sacred month of the Islamic year.

I am heartbroken for their families, for all of the students who were scared for their lives and were evacuated out of the school hand in hand, and for the greater Muslim community in San Diego and across the country.

The Islamic Center is a special place for the Clairemont community, a sanctuary for peace, comfort, and safety. Unfortunately, that was ripped away from our community by two people armed with guns and hate.

This tragedy didn't happen in a vacuum. We let it happen by refusing to actually do something and stop the rise of Islamophobia and anti- Muslim hate and hatred of all kinds.

For decades, the Islamic Center has been the target of hate speech and vandalism and yelling by people driving by, so this is a very resilient community because they have had to be a resilient community, but this has to be where we draw the line. It has to be because I refuse to let Amin, AbulEzz, and Nadir's sacrifices be in vain.

Amin worked as a security guard at the center for years. He came to work every day, prepared to protect his place of worship, and when confronted by the gunmen, he gave his life to save others.

AbulEzz was the heart and soul of the mosque for nearly 40 years. He was a constant presence, a pillar of the community, and a beloved husband, grandfather, and father who treated every child at the mosque as his own. He died doing what he loved most in the world: caring for the children of the mosque.

Nadir was a devoted member of the Clairemont community who gave his life shielding others from the gunmen.

This tragedy could have been so much worse had it not been for all of their sacrifices. They had the courage and bravery to stand up in the face of danger, to distract, delay, and even engage with the gunmen to save others.

We owe it to them to prevent the next hate crime, the next attack on our Muslim community because this is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on everyone's right to gather, worship, learn, and live in peace and safety. It is an attack on pluralism, on our right to celebrate our differences and coexist. It is an attack on our entire community, and we won't tolerate it.

To our Muslim community, we are here for you. We mourn alongside you. We will honor the lives of these great men we lost by coming together and showing that our response to hate is love. It is compassion. It is understanding. It is community.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of us to join in a moment of silence in honor of Amin Abdullah, AbulEzz Kaziha, and Nadir Awad.

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