I am saddened by the ignorance fueled intolerance a number of people of "faith" continue to hold onto whenever Islam makes an American headline. Without any doubt, fanatic Muslims are among the world's most dangerous groups which include fanatic Christian and Jewish groups. Anytime one's own set of beliefs and values become the only true way to God, danger lurks around every turn. For, whenever fanatical beliefs rear their ugly heads, domination, elimination and extermination are sure to follow for those who find themselves outside of those beliefs.
The current controversy, of course, is over the building location of an Islamic Community Center near the site of the former World Trade Center. First, make sure you have the facts here. The proposed structure is not a mosque, although why that would make any difference is beyond me, but instead a community center where Muslims may go to practice peace in the community. And yet, too many uninformed Americans are ready to condemn the location without any respect for the purpose of the project. Christ must weep whenever his followers are witnessed participating in the very hatred of division, segregation, stratification, and demonization he came to conquer as the son of man!
Nine years ago, we witnessed a horrendous act of fear and cowardice as hopeless men savaged neighbors, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers early on a Tuesday morning in September. Yes, I remember that morning clearly. I was finishing a presentation for a local homeless shelter at the Forsyth Rotary Breakfast when I learned of the first tower being hit. The day was surreal and yet unfortunately all too real. And I remember the racial profiling of Muslims that followed and continues yet today.
Fear continues to attract the human psyche and inform our sensibilities and too often our actions. And yet, as a person of faith, a disciple of Christ, I follow the Lord who said to his closest followers, be not afraid. I choose to believe that God's love made known to us through Jesus really is wide enough, tall enough, long enough, thick enough, deep enough, and full enough for everyone. So, I choose not to tolerate intolerance! Stop buying the fear that intolerance sells you,
the fear that they are going to get you,
the fear of scarcity proclaiming a limit on God's love and grace,
the fear within you coaxing your belief in your own unworthiness!
Choose love over hate, abundance over scarcity, tolerance over intolerance and we may just yet know peace in our world.
This link shares the National Council of Churches' Statement on the proposed Community Center:
National Council of Churches News
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