Moderate Islam needs to take a stand
Political Pulpit
Object:
When the news broke concerning Juan Williams being fired for his comment on the O'Reiley Factor the issue of how we perceive Islam as Americans and Christians it became big news.
Several weeks ago I was in a discussion about the issue of building a mosque in New York City within a couple of blocks of Ground Zero. There were three other pastors (all Lutheran) and two laymen in a conversation about the issue. Before long it was not a conversation but rather a full blown argument about the attitude of Muslims toward Americans and vice versa. Later the conversation turned toward Muslims and Christians. People that were sitting at other tables wanted to join in and give their own expressions concerning the subject.
Part of my surprise was how adamant many of the lay people were about the Muslim-Christian part of the discussion than the Muslim-American discussion. The main point that many Christians pointed out was that there was an unwillingness to deal with the issue. Gay marriage, homosexuality, living together as unmarried, HIV and AIDs, homeless, hungry, the right to healthcare are all issues that the church is openly discussing in assemblies and study groups. But little is said about the attitude that radical Muslims hold to seek and destroy Israel and the United States if not all of Western culture.
Muslim extremists consider the scriptures of Muslims as the basis for their hatred of other religions and religious people, including most if not all Christians. This does not give the rest of the religious world a free pass. The terrorists are just targeting Christians at the present time. They share no love for Buddhists, Hindus, etc. While many do not participate and in theory do not approve of the terrorist's actions, they are cheered on by so-called moderates in high places. Few speak out against the terrorists except for those that need to be politically correct.
As usual I am in the minority of my fellow clergy who state that the Muslims have every right to build their Mosque near Ground Zero. I am told that the sons of Mohammed have gone through all of the established rules of New York City, the state of New York, and they have the blessing of the Mayor of New York and the President of the United States. That's hard to argue with when you are arguing against written rules of building code.
One of the debaters is a former missionary to Japan and an ex-military man that has served during war time. He believes that America is the greatest nation on earth. At the height of the discussion I asked him and others how we would have defended the Christian church if we would have built a cathedral on the sight of the atom bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Would it have been a positive factor in our relations with the Japanese people? Would it have created better understanding between Christians and the Japanese people? Even if we called it the "Cathedral of World Peace," I suspect that it would have had a devastating effect upon the conquered.
In speaking with another pastor that has served on a number of organized efforts to bring better understanding between Christians and Muslims he told me, "It is a one-way street. The Muslims have never wanted to see anything from a Christian perspective but instead insist on allowing their adherents to address Christian groups but not vice-versa."
On NPR during an interview with a highly respected Muslim leader he was asked if he would denounce the extremist bombings and other acts of terror. He said he could not be a spokesman for the entire Muslim faith and to do so would be a mistake as he is trying to reason with Muslims who embrace terrorism as a form of their faith.
If you believe "turning the other cheek" is the proper response then you should feel good about the attitude that is being urged upon us by many Christian leaders. While church leader after church leader condemns the acts of violence, they also look for the reasons that caused the violence, often finding things like American support of Israel, the culture of the Middle East, and the suppression of American capitalism as the reason for terrorism.
However, we are not just talking about foreign countries but Muslims who have grown up in this country and have lived as neighbors with people they now seek to destroy. Perhaps they are not carrying a concealed bomb or are firing a gun but they are trying to make reason out of anger and hate and that is something that is very hard to do.
When I asked a Muslim why their religious leaders did not condemn the actions of the "extremists" he told me that there was no single person that could speak for the Muslim world. He told me, "There is no Pope!"
Juan Williams was part of a give and take discussion and admitted that getting on a plane with people dressed in Arab garb made him a little nervous. He said this while trying to also say that he knew all Muslims are not extremists. According to NPR he crossed the line because of his human admission.
It appears to me that Muslim terrorism is a little like the gangs of the Old West. They took over towns, murdering, stealing, raping, and lying as the norm rather than the evil that it was. People had to go along with them because they would suffer the same fate as others had before them when they objected to the "gang's" behavior. People were allowed to live and even enjoy certain things like a barnyard dance or buying some seed but you never knew when they might interrupt the dance or declare the raised grain as belonging to them.
I am very disturbed not only about the stance of the Muslims but even more so of our church that is afraid to speak about the facts and continues to have us believe that somewhere there is common ground and we will find it with enough time to make us fellow worshipers of God. I am fearful of a political system that can't see the differences between what is said and what is done. Since 9/11, Islamic terrorists have carried out more than 16,250 deadly terror attacks around the world. We didn't call them attacks by radical Muslims, they claimed as Muslims they had every right to do so and saw it as some kind of twisted revenge.
It may not be the number of deaths caused by heart attacks and cancer or automobile deaths but it is a significant number and the very threat of the next one has changed the lives of everyone everywhere. We live in fear of terrorists, not God. We are afraid to fly, be in large crowds, or take the subway. We even have to ask ourselves if the place where we work is a safe place to do our job. Who are we afraid of? We are afraid of Muslim terrorists. I for one say, enough is enough. It is time for the peace-loving people of Islam to stand up and be counted. They need to speak out in their communities and houses of worship and teach a theology that is not "radical hate."
We don't need a pope to tell us that murdering innocent people is wrong. But we do need leadership to bring us to the light of the fire and deny those that would come in disguise to threaten our lives. I ask this of my church and I ask it of the leadership of the church.
Wesley T. Runk is an ordained pastor in the ELCA and the founder of CSS Publishing Company. He is the author of more than thirty books, including The Giant Book of Children's Sermons.
Several weeks ago I was in a discussion about the issue of building a mosque in New York City within a couple of blocks of Ground Zero. There were three other pastors (all Lutheran) and two laymen in a conversation about the issue. Before long it was not a conversation but rather a full blown argument about the attitude of Muslims toward Americans and vice versa. Later the conversation turned toward Muslims and Christians. People that were sitting at other tables wanted to join in and give their own expressions concerning the subject.
Part of my surprise was how adamant many of the lay people were about the Muslim-Christian part of the discussion than the Muslim-American discussion. The main point that many Christians pointed out was that there was an unwillingness to deal with the issue. Gay marriage, homosexuality, living together as unmarried, HIV and AIDs, homeless, hungry, the right to healthcare are all issues that the church is openly discussing in assemblies and study groups. But little is said about the attitude that radical Muslims hold to seek and destroy Israel and the United States if not all of Western culture.
Muslim extremists consider the scriptures of Muslims as the basis for their hatred of other religions and religious people, including most if not all Christians. This does not give the rest of the religious world a free pass. The terrorists are just targeting Christians at the present time. They share no love for Buddhists, Hindus, etc. While many do not participate and in theory do not approve of the terrorist's actions, they are cheered on by so-called moderates in high places. Few speak out against the terrorists except for those that need to be politically correct.
As usual I am in the minority of my fellow clergy who state that the Muslims have every right to build their Mosque near Ground Zero. I am told that the sons of Mohammed have gone through all of the established rules of New York City, the state of New York, and they have the blessing of the Mayor of New York and the President of the United States. That's hard to argue with when you are arguing against written rules of building code.
One of the debaters is a former missionary to Japan and an ex-military man that has served during war time. He believes that America is the greatest nation on earth. At the height of the discussion I asked him and others how we would have defended the Christian church if we would have built a cathedral on the sight of the atom bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Would it have been a positive factor in our relations with the Japanese people? Would it have created better understanding between Christians and the Japanese people? Even if we called it the "Cathedral of World Peace," I suspect that it would have had a devastating effect upon the conquered.
In speaking with another pastor that has served on a number of organized efforts to bring better understanding between Christians and Muslims he told me, "It is a one-way street. The Muslims have never wanted to see anything from a Christian perspective but instead insist on allowing their adherents to address Christian groups but not vice-versa."
On NPR during an interview with a highly respected Muslim leader he was asked if he would denounce the extremist bombings and other acts of terror. He said he could not be a spokesman for the entire Muslim faith and to do so would be a mistake as he is trying to reason with Muslims who embrace terrorism as a form of their faith.
If you believe "turning the other cheek" is the proper response then you should feel good about the attitude that is being urged upon us by many Christian leaders. While church leader after church leader condemns the acts of violence, they also look for the reasons that caused the violence, often finding things like American support of Israel, the culture of the Middle East, and the suppression of American capitalism as the reason for terrorism.
However, we are not just talking about foreign countries but Muslims who have grown up in this country and have lived as neighbors with people they now seek to destroy. Perhaps they are not carrying a concealed bomb or are firing a gun but they are trying to make reason out of anger and hate and that is something that is very hard to do.
When I asked a Muslim why their religious leaders did not condemn the actions of the "extremists" he told me that there was no single person that could speak for the Muslim world. He told me, "There is no Pope!"
Juan Williams was part of a give and take discussion and admitted that getting on a plane with people dressed in Arab garb made him a little nervous. He said this while trying to also say that he knew all Muslims are not extremists. According to NPR he crossed the line because of his human admission.
It appears to me that Muslim terrorism is a little like the gangs of the Old West. They took over towns, murdering, stealing, raping, and lying as the norm rather than the evil that it was. People had to go along with them because they would suffer the same fate as others had before them when they objected to the "gang's" behavior. People were allowed to live and even enjoy certain things like a barnyard dance or buying some seed but you never knew when they might interrupt the dance or declare the raised grain as belonging to them.
I am very disturbed not only about the stance of the Muslims but even more so of our church that is afraid to speak about the facts and continues to have us believe that somewhere there is common ground and we will find it with enough time to make us fellow worshipers of God. I am fearful of a political system that can't see the differences between what is said and what is done. Since 9/11, Islamic terrorists have carried out more than 16,250 deadly terror attacks around the world. We didn't call them attacks by radical Muslims, they claimed as Muslims they had every right to do so and saw it as some kind of twisted revenge.
It may not be the number of deaths caused by heart attacks and cancer or automobile deaths but it is a significant number and the very threat of the next one has changed the lives of everyone everywhere. We live in fear of terrorists, not God. We are afraid to fly, be in large crowds, or take the subway. We even have to ask ourselves if the place where we work is a safe place to do our job. Who are we afraid of? We are afraid of Muslim terrorists. I for one say, enough is enough. It is time for the peace-loving people of Islam to stand up and be counted. They need to speak out in their communities and houses of worship and teach a theology that is not "radical hate."
We don't need a pope to tell us that murdering innocent people is wrong. But we do need leadership to bring us to the light of the fire and deny those that would come in disguise to threaten our lives. I ask this of my church and I ask it of the leadership of the church.
Wesley T. Runk is an ordained pastor in the ELCA and the founder of CSS Publishing Company. He is the author of more than thirty books, including The Giant Book of Children's Sermons.
