North Texas Muslims, neighbors gather to call for peace

From a rally in front of Dallas City Hall to an interfaith gathering inside a North Dallas church, hundreds of North Texans spent Sunday decrying terrorism — and denouncing those who blame the entire Islamic religion for the violent acts of an extremist few.

“Islam is a religion of peace,” said Shoeb Khan, one of more than 100 Muslims who celebrated the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad downtown Sunday. “There is no compulsion in Islam. If [terrorists] went by the teachings, they would not commit these acts.”

That parade and the Stand With Our Muslim Neighbors event at Northaven United Methodist Church came eight days after protesters picketed a Garland fundraiser for a center that would teach Muslims how to combat negative depictions of their faith.

The protests drew national media attention. They also prompted the Northaven event, which drew more than 200 people Sunday.

“It is wrong to paint the whole of any religion as responsible for violence from extremism,” said Northaven senior pastor Eric Folkerth.