Law enforcement believes Omar Mateen, 29, pledged allegiance to the Islamic extremist group ISIS and entered the Pulse nightclub around 2 a.m. Sunday.
The mosque leaders -- also called Imams -- gathered together at the Colorado Muslim Society Sunday afternoon with more than 200 other members.
The gathering started in prayer and quickly became a place of reassurance that the Muslim community was just as shocked about another act of violence carried out in their name.
"I want to assure you of your safety. We are human beings like you," said Shafi Abdul Aziz, Imam at the Colorado Muslim Society.
"We all condemn the loss of human life, which is sickening," said ShemsAdeen Ben-Masud, Imam of the Metro Denver North Islamic Center.
The mosque leaders, called Imams, said they feel obligated to speak out.
"We don't condone and we oppose and we reject whatever happened in Florida, what happened before in violence, what will happen tomorrow, you will find us opposing it," Aziz said.
"We wanted a platform where we can say, 'No. This is not us,'" said Karim Abuzaid, Imam at the Colorado Muslim Community Center.
Abuzaid was on his way to Denver from Detroit when he heard the news of the Orlando mass shooting. While walking through DIA wearing traditional Islamic clothing, he felt he was being judged.
"Everyone is looking at me. Some of them looking with an angry look, some of them looking, being afraid of me and that hurts me," he said.
Local law enforcement is standing with the religious leaders. Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies and Aurora Police officers were at the gathering to make sure the group stayed safe. The Aurora Police Department recently assigned an officer to be a liaison between law enforcement and the Muslim community.
"Just to know now that that is considered the worst mass shooting in history where Aurora once had that distinction. Now to think, 'What next?' and how numb are we doing to be to these kind of situations in the future?" said Chief Nick Metz with the Aurora Police Department.
"I hope that we, as Muslims, can be unapologetic because we have nothing to apologize for in that this does not represent our religion. It does not represent our ideologies and it does not certainly represent what our communities stand for," said Amal Kassir, 21, member of the Colorado Muslim Society.
A meeting like this has never happened before – and the Muslim community wants to send a strong message that they do not support the violence.
The leaders say what happened does not reflect Islam.
“I hope that we as Muslims can be unapologetic because we have nothing to apologize for,” Amal Kassir with the Colorado Muslim Society said. “ … This does not represent our religion. It does not represent our ideology and it does not certainly represent what our community stands for.”
Although the Orlando nightclub shooter did pledge his allegiance to ISIS, the local Imams say they do not believe he was a practicing Muslim or participating in the holy month of Ramadan.
“There is no way a Muslim can be at that place at this time, in the month of Ramadan, to kill,” Imam Karim Abazaid with the Colorado Muslim Community Center said. “Impossible! Impossible!”
There are 50,000 to 100,000 Muslims in Colorado.
Mosque leaders say they are open to having gay members in their religion. They said they welcome all Muslims, and do not ask if someone identifies as LGBTQ.
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