The tragic news of the bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka over the Easter period and the resulting staggering and senseless loss of life has left us numb with horror. Our thoughts are with the victims of this atrocity, their grieving families, and the Christian communities of Sri Lanka and beyond. Words cannot describe our heartache and we share the burden of this terrible loss with you.
Barely a month has passed since theoutpouring of sympathy, love and support from the Christian communities and others around the world for Muslims following the terrorist attacks in Christchurch, and we are again distraught to contemplate yet more heinous attacks on places of worship. We stand shoulder to shoulder with you in defending religious freedoms and combating every monstrous and alien ideology that opposes this core principle of religious belief.
The perpetrators of these unspeakable and criminal acts defile and debase the sacreddirective that all life is sacrosanct through their very ungodly actions, thereby seeking tofomentreligious tensions and hatred in Sri Lanka. These perpetrators represent no religion and are criminals against humanity. We place all of our trust in Allah (God Almighty) whose compassion and mercy envelopes all of those unjustly wronged.
We ask Allah to bestow patience and fortitude on the families of the dead to bear their loss, and to aid the injured with speedy and full recoveries.