Dick Durbin: “it is interesting--the Midwest draws us together in the right way. Last night in Springfield, IL, a typical midwestern…”

“it is interesting--the Midwest draws us together in the right way. Last night in Springfield, IL, a typical midwestern American city, there was a gathering of people from all across the city at 5:30 on a Sunday night. It was a gathering at the Islamic Society of Springfield. A request had been made for people of all religions to come together and to pray in solidarity with our Islamic neighbors. It was billed as a peace rally originally scheduled to be held outside, even in winter weather. Although it has been warm for this time of year, it was raining heavy last night as we all arrived at the building, so everyone crammed inside the building. There was standing and sitting room only. It was a huge outpouring of support for our Muslim brothers and sisters in the Springfield community. There were representatives of virtually every religion present, and many spoke--rabbis, ministers, Catholic nuns, and even a few elected officials--trying to let our friends in the Muslim community know that despite some of the things that had been said over the last few weeks by Presidential candidates, we in fact embrace them as part of the American family. There was also an event this weekend that occurred far away from Springfield, in Scottsdale, AZ, where my colleague in the Senate, Jeff Flake of Arizona, visited a mosque. It was widely reported.…”