On Sunday evening, local Christians, Muslims and others came together for an interfaith service at First Christian Church to honor the victims of the nation's latest and deadliest mass shooting. In Florida, a lone gunman killed nearly 50 people and wounded even more, targeting gays and lesbians at an Orlando nightclub. The shooter had pledged his allegiance to the radical extremist Islamic State.
Bassam Issa, president of the Islamic Society of greater Chattanooga, attended the service, and strongly denounced the shooter.
"This person today killed humanity 50 times," Issa said, referencing the Quran:
We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.
"We as American Muslims are totally against it. We are very depressed about it. But we don't think it is because of our religion. It's an individual act and he blamed it on our religion."
Brandon Gilvin, Senior Minister at First Christian Church, spoke out against intolerance toward gays and lesbians, and called for Chattanoogans to express sympathy for the victims.
"This is a community that's lived through a targeted shooting that's not too unlike what Orlando has experienced," he said, "so that should give us an extra sort of empathy."