By dusk March 17, more than 200 people had gathered on the sidewalks of Seventh and Hamilton streets, Allentown, to honor the 50 victims of attacks on two mosques in New Zealand’s city of Christchurch two days earlier.

“Let it be known that Allentown did not remain silent when all of this violence was taking place,” Imam Basheer Bilaal, of the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley, Whitehall Township, said in reference to the massacres. “Let history take note that you stood beside your fellow brothers and sisters in humanity while there were these acts of terrorism taking place on the other side of the world.”

The vigil was coordinated by the MALV and Al-Ahad Islamic Center, South Whitehall Township, among other community organizations.

Religious leaders and community members used the time to remember those who were killed and to foster interfaith unity.

“(We) will not allow their hate to prevail. (We) will not allow them to strike fear into the hearts of the believers and to the people living in these societies. We will not allow them to scare us and our brothers and sisters,” Bilaal said.

The March 15 attacks were New Zealand’s deadliest in modern history. In the wake of the killings, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has already promised changes would be made to the country’s gun laws.

So far, a 28-year-old white supremacist from Australia, named Brenton Harrison Tarrant, has been charged with murder in the massacre. Tarrant is expected to face additional charges.

“Now, like never before, we who believe will use our faith to pray with our feet,” Greg Edwards, founder and senior pastor of Resurrected Life Community Church, Allentown said. “At this time, we stand in the deep waters of solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters, who’ve been standing for far too long by themselves.”

For almost two hours, speakers took to the podium, sharing messages of resilience, hope and solidarity. The crowd stood shoulder to shoulder, their faces lit only by the dim glow of flickering candlelight.

When wind extinguished one candle, another’s flame was offered. And through the night, light was preserved.

Ameen Datoo, of Al-Ahad Islamic Center, told those gathered fighting hate is a long battle that requires not only perseverance, but partnership.

“Regardless of your faith, or if you’re not a person of faith - there’s hope, and that’s what we have to take away today,” Datoo said. “We all need to stick together because these acts are designed to deter us, to shake our hope, to make us not want to go to our mosques or our synagogues or our schools - and we can’t allow that to happen.”