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| As Ninth Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks Approaches, Kinnamon Asks Churches to Remember All the Victims |
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NEW YORK – The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 changed millions of lives forever, and the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches is calling on churches to hold all the victims in prayer – families of the dead and injured as well as millions of Muslims who continue to be targets of Islamophobia rhetoric and attacks. In a letter to NCC Governing Board members, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon expressed alarm that the pastor of a small church in Gainesville, Fla. continues his threats to burn the Qur'an, and called on Christians to remember Jesus' commandments to love God and "love your neighbor as yourself." Kinnamon included in his letter a bulletin insert of the statement issued September 7 by a historic summit of interfaith leaders expressing their concern about the rise of anti-Muslim statements and actions in the U.S., and urged communions to share the message with their churches. Remembering the horror of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Kinnamon said the aftermath has been "almost as horrible." "What began with a twisted plot by a handful of terrorists with bizarre ideas about God evolved quickly into two wars, tens of thousands of additional deaths among all combatants, and the deepening of xenophobic misunderstandings on all sides about the nature of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. A printable copy of the letter and the bulletin insert can be found at http://www.ncccusa.org/NCCseptember11letter.pdf. The text of the letter is below: Office of the General Secretary September 9, 2010 Dear Friends, Saturday marks the ninth year since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. For all who lived through this terrible day, September 11 will forever be a reminder of the fruits of ignorance and the depths to which human hatred can descend. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost that day, more than the deaths counted at the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In the New York area especially, but also in Washington, millions of people were directly affected by the attacks, by the deaths and injuries of victims and first-responders, by the loss of property and jobs, by post-traumatic scars borne by uncounted witnesses who watched the attacks with horror. It was a day we shall never forget. Almost as horrible have been the direct consequences of the attacks. What began with a twisted plot by a handful of terrorists with bizarre ideas about God evolved quickly into two wars, tens of thousands of additional deaths among all combatants, and the deepening of xenophobic misunderstandings on all sides about the nature of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. As September 11 approaches again, little has improved. The "military phase" of the Iraq war has been declared over, but U.S. troops continue to be in harm's way amid insurrectionist attacks. The Afghanistan war continues with only tentative assurance expressed by our leaders that it will be successfully concluded. And at home, manifestations of Islamophobia and hatred defy both logic and the commandments of our Lord to love our neighbor as ourselves. Most notably this Saturday, the leader of a small congregation in Gainesville, Fla., resisting both common sense and a basic understanding of the gospel, threatens to burn the Holy Qur'an as a statement to Muslims that they are not welcome in America. This abject publicity stunt has been condemned not only by interfaith leaders at home and abroad but by nearly half of the Gainesville congregation itself. As of today, the Gainesville pastor continues to ignore warnings by General Petraeus that the burning of the Qur'an may put American troops in harm's way, and he has certainly ignored the warnings of our own member communions that the stunt may endanger fellow Christians who live in minority communities in Muslim nations if extremists use it as a pretext to violence. We don't have the power to dilute the potion of publicity that has moved this pastor beyond the point of reason, and certainly his First Amendment rights to express his view are as indelible as ours. But we can do this: we can amplify our own testimony and encourage our congregations to join a crescendo of witness. On September 7, I participated in a summit of interfaith leaders to express our deep concerns about the prevalence of anti-Muslim rhetoric in our land. A copy of our joint statement is attached. I commend it to you, and hope you will commend it to your member congregations so that we can speak with one voice. Our message is not complicated, and Jesus took great pains to make it clear. ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40. NRSV) This September 11, my prayer is that the member communions of the National Council of Churches will join in the proclamation of this simple message – the basic meaning of which is repeated in the Torah and in the Qur'an. Love God. Love your neighbor. With these commandments, God has made our path clear: • This September 11, we remember all who died and were injured in the terror attacks of 2001, and we pray for all who were physically, emotionally, spiritually scarred. • This September 11, we remember that the dead and injured include Muslims who worked in the World Trade Center as well as members of many other faiths. • This September 11, we remember that among those who continue to suffer the consequences of the terror attacks are millions of Muslims who reject the mindless violence of a minority of extremists. • This September 11, we commit ourselves to engaging Muslim sisters and brothers in dialogue and acts of neighborliness. • This September 11, we join our voices in a rejection of anti-Muslim rhetoric and threats. • This September 11, we unite in prayer that this agonizing period of war, terrorism, hatred, and festering ignorance of one another will pass, and members of all faiths will resolve to live together in harmony and in faithfulness to the commandments of the one God. Grace to you, and Peace, |
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