In response to the Sept. 27 vandalization of the Prince Edward County Islamic Center, the Interfaith Collective of Farmville held a prayer vigil on the lawn on the Prince Edward County Courthouse on Sunday, Oct. 1.
The mosque, along with two other structures in Farmville that haven't been released, had the words “F*ck God and Allah” spray painted along its wall and a symbol with two circles and the letters “IC.” The symbol has yet to be identified, according to local religious leaders Patsy Watson and Khalil Latif, who organized the vigil.
The Farmville Police Department (FDP) logged the vandalism on the 300 block of West Third Street at 8:36 a.m. on Sept. 28. On the same day, the police activity log reported two other instances of vandalism were reported at 100 block of High Street at 10:09 a.m. and Appomattox Street at 11:14 a.m.
According to Watson and Latif, the vandalism was reported to the police by community members and the investigation is ongoing.
Watson said the Interfaith Collective was made up of people with different faiths who seek to learn about each other. At the vigil four different prayers were recited by leaders from different religious communities.
The first prayer was done by Allison Crews of Natural pHuel, a new age spiritual group. After introductions by Watson, Crews used a prayer bowl to conduct a rhythmic song.
After the song, Watson spoke again, emphasizing respect for others and prayer.
“In these times of discord, I personally feel that three words are important: love and respect and redemption,” Watson said.
Watson also told those gathered to look for commonalities with other people and traditions and urged others to learn about different faiths.
“While they differ in their beliefs, they have some commonalities and one of those is a sense of community, that’s what binds people together. They come together to celebrate in some way, shape or form,” said Watson.
Calling for the acceptance of "nonbelievers," she added, “When we respect someone else’s religion it doesn’t mean we agree with their faith, it just means we love them enough to allow them to express their faith or lack of faith in their own way.”
Additionally, Watson discussed redemption and conducted a prayer with the group.
“It’s difficult to move past something that has been said or done to us or even those that we love,” Watson noted. “We must move past it because holding a grudge only harms ourselves.”
Before praying, she asked the audience to keep those affected by the vandalism in mind.
Watson, who is Baptist, then asked those gathered to follow along in their own tradition of praying while she recited a prayer of the Christian tradition.
After Watson’s prayer, Latif thanked the town for “painting over the ugliness” and law enforcement for their “timely and fast” response. He is the imam of the Prince Edward County Islamic Center.
Latif then discussed the vandalism itself and praised the community’s response to the incident.
“Looking at the ignorance that was put there, we could not decipher whether it was an act against us, per se as Muslims, or whether it was against us as a faith community,” said Latif.
Then, Latif commented on unity with the Farmville community and learning about other’s cultures.
“It’s one thing for you to know what you know but the thing that unifies is what you know about yourself, but also to learn those things about others and the things that we share so we can concentrate on the things that we share,” said Latif.
Afterwards Latif recited the El Fatiha, usually translated as "the opening" prayer, in Arabic, and then in English. After the prayer, Latif discussed finding unity among different people.
“If we begin to look at it from the perspective that all who stand here that are believers in God we are the descendants of Adam, we all are descendants of Adam, hence we share a lot,” Latif said. “If we look at it from that perspective the piece of unity becomes all the easier.”
Latif then thanked the community again for its response.
“As we as Muslims strive to be good neighbors, so have you been,” he said.
Rector of John’s Memorial Episcopal Church Nancy Meck led a brief prayer next.
“I’m sorry for what has brought us together, but I’m so blessed that we could come together as a community as people of faith and as people who respect the dignity of every human being,” she said.
She explained her prayer came from a book of Episcopal prayers meant for interfaith gatherings before she read it to the audience.
The gathering concluded with Watson asking those in attendance to love each other unconditionally as human beings, regardless of any differences they may have.
Anyone with information regarding the mosque vandalism can contact FDP at (434) 392-3332.
Prince Edward County Islamic Center imam Khalil Latif led a prayer vigil with other local religious on Oct. 1, following the vandalization of the mosque on Sept. 27.
Imam Khalil Latif praised the community's reaction to the vandalism and unity. “Looking at the ignorance that was put there, we could not decipher whether it was an act against us, per se as Muslims, or whether it was against us as a faith community,” he said.
People gathered for a community prayer vigil led by the local Interfaith collective on Oct. 1 in response to vandalism written on the walls of the Prince Edward County Islamic Center.
People gathered for a community prayer vigil led by the local Interfaith collective on Oct. 1 in response to vandalism written on the walls of the Prince Edward County Islamic Center.
People gathered for a community prayer vigil led by the local Interfaith collective on Oct. 1 in response to vandalism written on the walls of the Prince Edward County Islamic Center.
