When Jesus Peace and blessings be upon him Announced The commandment to “Love one another” He never meant Only love Black or white or brown people Or Jews only The prophet of Islam Peace and blessings be upon him Was called “a mercy unto mankind” He was a mercy not for one Or other Race or religion But for all mankind And As the Bible proclaimed Man was made in God’s image The Quran declared Man is the “Deputy of God” A unique status For a unique creation On a unique planet How have wetreated The deputyof God? In Pittsburgh we have killed the deputy in a synagogue In Christchurch in a mosque And In Sri Lanka In several churches Jews, Muslims, Christians No one was spared We have spared No one We have ignored The wise rabbis Who said Tikkun ulam Heal a fractured world We have mocked And rejected God We have thereby Blocked our path To the mercy of God Yet We recall On the cruel cross In intense agony Jesus sighed Forgive them For they know not What they do And when Hind Committed acts of barbarity To torture the Prophet He still forgave her And when the woman Who threw garbage On him daily Fell ill He visited her With gifts and good wishes Every life you take He warned Is like killing the Entire Universe Others too The great Men and women of God Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh Preached love and compassion We can still remind God That we are part of God And God is part of us That God has called Himself The Beneficient The Merciful We can Pray that the light of God That shines in the hearts Of the good and pious, Will evoke God’s compassion. The writer is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC, and author of Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity