In case you have not yet heard, there were two horrific mass shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand leaving 49 people dead. The suspected shooter cited President Trump and white nationalism in his manifesto, but Trump has since said that he doesn’t see white nationalism as a growing threat worldwide.

To help support the victims of this senseless tragedy in ways that our federal government is not currently doing, you can donate to the fundraiser listed below. If donations are not feasible for you at the moment, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) recently sent out an email requesting that any muslim students abstain from Ramadan for testing. The Council for American Islamic Relations is requesting all Americans who value religious freedoms to send a message to SPS demanding that they respect religious observances. There is a sample script below. In addition to this, there is a solidarity vigil in Redmond on Monday for the victims of the Christchurch massacre followed by a teach-in on combating Islamophobia.

ACTIONS

Donation link: https://www.launchgood.com/project/support_for_the_families__victims_of_the_new_zealand_mosque_shootings?fbclid=IwAR061ZdpfD5PxjTxXoougwyqO4H2MQNzRt6cHHOweOj9G6PzghU90iNzzzk#!/

Vigil and teach-in: https://www.facebook.com/events/372855189969766/

Send SPS a message here: https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=5868

[SCRIPT TEMPLATE]:

I believe that all children deserve equal access to education no matter their faith. I also believe that the religious practices of students should be respected and taken into consideration by educators and administrators.

I am disturbed that Seattle Schools started on Rosh Hashanah this year and that Thurgood Elementary School recently suggested to parents that students break their religious practice of fasting during Ramadan in order to accommodate testing.

That is why I have signed a petition asking that:

*Thurgood Marshall Elementary and the Seattle School District retract and apologize for their email to parents

*Thurgood Marshall Elementary and the Seattle School District meet with CAIR-WA and other interfaith community leaders on how they can better sensitize themselves to the practices and needs of their Muslim students

*The Seattle School District commit to taking religious holidays and practices into account when setting their yearly calendar

BACKGROUND:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/15/donald-trump-denies-white-nationalism-threat-new-zealand