Community remembrance service planned to honor victims of New Zealand shootings

A community remembrance in memory of Muslims killed in mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques will unfold in an interfaith service at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus.

The gathering, “One Community, One World” has been planned by the Islamic Society of Columbus Indiana with help from several interfaith partners, according to organizers.

“We definitely want to remember the fallen in New Zealand,” said Hanna Omar, spokesperson for the local Islamic society. “And secondly, we want to focus upon and celebrate our unity (among faiths).”

Omar has been among a number of local faith leaders who have spoken regularly in recent years about the need for people of differing beliefs to come together and share common ground even while “celebrating differences,” as she has put it. She has been a very visible member among local Islamic believers sharing the background of her faith at public forums.

For more on this story, see Sunday’s Republic.