VIRGINIA – Marking World Refugee Day, US Secretary of State John Kerry and actress Angelina Jolie visited America’s second largest mosque on Monday, joining Muslims on Ramadan iftar and welcoming refugees displaced from war-torn countries.
“There is absolutely zero evidence that refugees that make it through our process pose more of a threat than members of any other group,” Kerry spoke at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, the second largest mosque in the country, prompting loud applause, Loudoun Now reported on Tuesday, June 21.
“Let me be clear: There is nothing ideological about coming to the aid to someone in need. … Americans say here we are what can we do to help. That’s who we are.”
Kerry and Jolie were among several area religious leaders who gathered at ADAMS Islamic center to mark World Refugee Day.
He added that the US will accept 80,000 refugees this year and 100,000 next year, and that each of them would have to undergo stringent screening before they can resettle here.
Jolie, a Hollywood star and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy, stressed that those who are accepting of people of different religions, cultures and backgrounds do not do away with their own identity.
“When we are at our strongest is when we draw on our diversity as people, to find unity based on our common values and our identity,” she said.
“We are not strong despite our diversity, we’re strong because of it.”
Welcoming 375 people, representing Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist faiths, ADAMS Chairman Rizwan Jaka commended those in Northern Virginia for accepting refugees with open arms.
“We appreciate that,” Jaka said, looking to the congregation.
Rev. Bob Roberts Jr., pastor of NorthWood Church in Texas, added that the world looks to the two largest religions, Islam and Christianity, to lead the way in that effort.
“It’s time for the two largest religions of the world to start acting what we believe what the Quran and the Bible says we believe,” he said, that means opening up homes and hearts to those in need.