Assalamalaykum, friends. 

Today is a difficult day for many people. Earlier, I watched my local CBS station as George Zimmerman was pronounced innocent by a jury of his peers. I’m not going to sit here and speak to his innocence or guilt. That’s a matter for the courts. But I’m going to try and speak to some of the broader thematic concerns. I think there’s a lot of ground here in this to talk about forgiving people, even if that is a really difficult thing. 

In Ramadan, we’re called to forgive people who have transgressed against us, as part of the process of finding spiritual wholeness. We’re taught that there will be a judgment of accountability by God on the Day of Judgment. We’re also taught that there are punishments for our trangressions in this life as well. But, we are human. We are imperfect - and our justice system can be as well. We are asked to trust that at the end of time, we trust that God will hold those who are truly guilty accountable. But until then, the best way for us to move past these things is to forgive, and trust in God. We can’t move forward as a society if we hold grudges. 

Let me lay out the one truth that I think is important in all this: A teenager is dead. We live in a society where we have consistent problems with death and dying, and a legal system that seems ill-equipped to handle the challenges of our time. Frequently, we seem fixated on getting even, or getting revenge on others for things that have occurred. We think poorly of other people, sometimes just because of what they look like - and I don’t think this is a problem that’s isolated to one community. Whatever race, religion, or ethnicity you’re from, there are always elements that negatively stereotype another race, religion or ethnicity. But we can solve that problem. We can forgive. We can move on. We can acknowledge that we were set on this Earth together for a greater good. But we don’t. We hold grudges against other people, think bad thoughts. In Ramadan, the best fast is that the one that not only abstains from food and drink, but also abstains from negative thoughts and perceptions, and attempts to consciously improve ourselves. Even if you’re not Muslim, this a lesson that we can all share - hopefully for the better.