Forgiveness Across Faiths

All life is sacred. When a life of promise is taken away, the promise often shines even brighter. So can be the case with Charlie Kirk.

Erica Kirk couldn't have said it better at her husband's memorial. Then she referred to her husband's killer.

"I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do, ... The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us."

In a memorial service clouded by some distasteful and occasionally hateful rhetoric, Erica drew strength in her personal tragedy from Christian ideals of love and forgiveness.

A decade ago, in 2015, a Muslim cleric in Lexington, Kentucky, met his challenge. A teenager had robbed and killed his son. In the court where the robber was sentenced to 31 years in prison, witnessed by all present, Abdul Munim Sombat Jitmoud embraced the convict, expressed his sympathy, and forgave him for having taken his son's life. A kind and gentle soul, beloved by all who knew him, Abdul Munim Jitmoud had embodied the Islamic ideals of forgiveness and kindness.

Erica and Abdul Munim both found comfort and guidance in their spiritual home. They rose above the mundane and touched heavenly inspiration. They may not know each other, but the angels in heaven will know them as kindred spirits.

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