The days and week following the terror attack at an Orlando gay night club have been tough for local Muslims.
The shooter Omar Mateen was said to have been inspired by the Islamic State.
Yet, the news didn’t stop some from celebrating their own faith as well as others at a Nashville Pride Interfaith celebration Wednesday night in honor of the Orlando victims.
While Islamic terrorism has inspired acts of retaliation over the years, those NewsChannel5 talked to said they had gotten encouragement from other people of faith.
“The one ray of hope I've seen since Sunday afternoon is the people coming together to say we're not going to let a lunatic no matter what their background is, divide us,” said Paul Galloway with the American Center for Outreach.
The organization promotes a "faith-based approach to social justice." He said that he and his fellow Muslims remained committed to making their faith welcoming to all.
“I invite any person who has fears about what our community teaches or what we believe in, to just come meet us,” said Galloway. “At the end of the day, we're all human beings and we should all afford each other human dignity.”
The Islamic Center of Nashville was one of many mosques around the nation who openly condemned the attack.
