An assortment of student groups banded together to plan a rally to be held today in remembrance of last week's attacks in Mumbai, India.
Students will gather on the patio of Tisch Library at noon, during the open block period.
Representatives from the Muslim Students Association (MSA), Tufts Hillel and the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) will give speeches in a show of solidarity, according to junior Rezwan Khan, a member of the South Asian Political Action Committee, which is the principal organizer of the rally. The committee is part of the Tufts Association for South Asians.
A group of gunmen killed nearly 200 people and left hundreds wounded last week in a series of attacks in Mumbai. They targeted 10 locations, including two popular hotels, a railway station and a Jewish center.
"Terrorism affects everyone. It doesn't matter whether you're a Muslim or a Christian or a Jew; it affects everyone," said Khan, who added that organizers were reaching out to various religious groups for the rally. "It's a very powerful way to show that we're all in this together."
History Professor Ayesha Jalal, the director of the Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies, will give an address tomorrow, Khan said. She will be joined by sophomore Radhika Saraf, an international student from Mumbai, according to Khan.
Saraf's uncle was shot and a number of her family friends were killed in the attacks, Khan said.
Tufts Hillel President Nathan Render, a junior, IGL Director Sherman Teichman and MSA Vice President Saad Alam, a sophomore, will represent their respective organizations.
The Muslim terrorist organization Deccan Mujahideen has taken responsibility for the attacks, which have further strained religious tensions in the volatile region. In the days following the violence, many Muslims across the globe have tried to distance their religion from the attacks.
"The occupation of the synagogue and killing people in hotels tarnishes the Muslim faith," Kazin al-Muqdadi, a political science lecturer at Baghdad University, told the Associated Press. "Anyone who slaughters people and screams, ‘Allahu Akbar' (God is Great) is sick and ignorant."
Alam said that he is more concerned about making a personal statement than speaking on behalf of the Muslim community at Tufts.
He also said that a focus on unity should overshadow the casting of blame. "This isn't really a time for partisanship or dividing. This is a time when we need to come together and look at what unites us," he said. "At this time, when it's so close to the tragedy, I'm not really looking at who is pointing fingers."
Unity is also central to the South Asian Political Action Committee, which has members of various nationalities, including Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi.
"We felt like it could happen to us, and that we have a responsibility as South Asians to stand for the tragedy that happened in South Asia," Khan said.
