Faith communities in Northeast Ohio are condemning the mass shootings at two mosques full of worshippers attending Friday prayers in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left at least 49 people dead.

Dr. Ihsan Ul Haque, a founding member of the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent and a Barberton-based doctor with Cleveland Clinic, said he hopes to learn the motive for the shooting, adding he doesn’t think the shooter or shooters contemplated their actions or considered the effects.

"It behooves us to try to understand the motives and then in no uncertain terms make it clear to our families, our youngsters, our disenchanted people that there is hope and love that will far outweigh any kind of hatred anywhere,” he said.

Haque encouraged people to stay hopeful and avoid vengeance.

"We know that there are hate groups within our own country, and the political polarization that we see in our countries over the past three, four years, that has sharpened some of the points of view and made us all edgy,” he said. “We need to smooth those edges over. We need some sandpapering to do and some filing to do."

Temple Israel Rabbi Josh Brown in an email to members Friday recognized Temple Israel’s friendship with the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent. The two organizations have hosted a monthly Jewish-Muslim dialogue for the past three years.

“Like many of you, I woke up this morning to the tragic news that yet another sanctuary in our world has been desecrated by a violent act of hate. We mourn with our Muslim brothers and sisters as we know that they suffer this loss today,” he wrote.

The next dialogue at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Temple Israel, 91 Springside Drive in Akron, will include a special prayer and presentation.

Brown said after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people in October, “members of ISAK were among the first to reach out to our community with phone calls and letters of compassion dropped on our doorstep. We have built a bridge between our communities and today is a day to reassure them of its strength,” he wrote.

At Temple Israel’s Shabbat service Friday night, members wrote cards, hoping to get at least 49 cards to represent the 49 people killed. Cards can also be sent to Islamic Society of Akron and Kent, 152 E. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44224.

The Islamic Center of Cleveland planned a vigil Friday evening on the steps of Cleveland City Hall with city and county leadership.

The Islamic Center of Cleveland also issued a statement in response to the attacks that said it’s working with Parma police to provide extra security for its masjid and the school located on its premises. It also encouraged community members to be vigilant and report suspicious behavior to the masjid management or Parma police, calling security “a collective responsibility.”

"The Islamic Center of Cleveland has always condemned all acts of violence against innocent people,” the statement reads. “Today, we again condemn, in the strongest terms, the senseless act of violence and terrorism in New Zealand. We pray for the innocent victims of this cowardly act and for their families.”