Ashamed
I know I've written a lot here recently about the Park51 community center. In trying to be a voice of love as a Christian, I've mentioned I've been met with a lot of hate and just downright ignorance and prejudice. In hearing President Obama publicly speak on on behalf of the community center, my heart truly broke. It's not that I don't agree with him (I do), it's just that it makes me ashamed for my country and the Christians living here that our President has to make a speech like that. Our country has dealt with the religious liberty issue, and we have worked through the growing pains that brought us to the place where we guarantee religious liberty for all. The fact that our President has to remind of us that – remind us of who we are and what we value as a nation is truly depressing.
In my article for the Common Ground News Service on A Christian response to the Islamic Community Center I wrote -
In the continued confusion and misunderstandings sparked by the events of 9/11, I all too often encounter a culture of fear and revenge. Some Christians unfortunately say that the terrorists’ actions represent the heart of Islam. They project their fear and hatred onto all Muslims, blaming them for those events and asserting that they desire the destruction of Christianity and America’s freedoms.
Ironically, many of these same people are the first to argue when so-called Christians commit heinous acts that they do not act on behalf of all Christians. They go so far as to say they aren’t actually Christians, much less representative of the religion, as we saw recently when members of Michigan’s Hutaree Militia were arrested for planning to slaughter law enforcement workers.
But this same distinction is rarely extended to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
I wish I could offer an apology on behalf of those who hold such misinformed beliefs – for those Christians that fail to follow in the way of Jesus and who instead oppose the rights of Muslims to worship freely in our country. But I don’t speak for them. I can only live my life and use my voice to represent a different side of Christianity, one that truly believes God’s love and mercy extends everywhere.
And I can hope with Bloomberg that the building of this community centre will achieve its goal of working for reconciliation and "help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 are in any way consistent with Islam."
It hurts to see so many Americans and so many Christians believing lies and spreading fear. It hurts to know that we don't love our neighbor. And it is uncomfortable to realize how few fellow Christians are speaking out in defense of our Muslim brothers and sisters. I am not a Muslim, there are many parts of Islam that I disagree with (as there are with parts of Christianity), but I am embarrassed and ashamed by how I see America and the church responding to this issue. May God forgive us.
julieclawson(at)gmail(dot)com 
Julie:
You might be interested in reading what Khadro, a Muslim student of mine, just wrote in her last essay assignment:
"What happened on September 11 reversed all progress that had been made by Islam in the last 30 years. About 500 Muslims died in the World Trade Center tragedy and [the] rest of them became hostages to the fear, intimidation, and insecurity about their future according to some newspapers around the world. All the progress [that] had been made in the growth of Islam in the USA for the last 30 years seems to be reversed and some immigrant Muslims even started to question whether they should go back to the country they came from. Of course, those American Muslims … who were born here have no place to go; this is indeed their home. The question many Muslims are asking is what went wrong after 9/11?"
"It is true that September 11 was a wakeup call to all Muslims that if they don't take their places alongside other citizens [, they] may be associated with terrorism and hate group[s]. Muslims have been stereotyped heavily after the attacks … The Islam[ic] religion teaches people to live in peace and harmony, not hate and prejudice. It teaches people to treat other[s] the way they like to be treated. Moreover, it also teaches people to respect elders and have sympathy for one another. A true follower of the five pillars of Islam will not kill … innocent people…"
Don
The Hutaree analogy seems very appropriate to me, Julie. Thank you for articulating it so clearly.
I too am deeply disturbed and ashamed by the negativity and outright hatred being displayed towards Muslims by Christians regarding the Center. However, I would caution you in thinking that all people who are opposed to the Center harbor hatred and bigotry towards.
I do not support the Center being built at that location and felt a bit of saddens whenI heard that Obama supports moving forward with it. My disapproval of the Center is more out of respect for those who died at Ground Zero. I just think it is in very poor taste of the Muslim community to want to build a Center at that that location. It is disrespectful of those who died at the hands of Muslims, even if those Muslims were representing a warped view of the faith. For me, it is not a matter of bigotry, it is about showing respect for to the lives that were lost and the healing and forgiveness that stills need to occur. The Muslim community can't rush or force it by their good intentions or desire to show themselves in a better light.
Thank-you for your article. It was everything I've been feeling. The visceral hate towards all things Muslim that this community center has brought forth in some of my dear Christian friends has been so very disturbing to me. And trust me, the community center being near Ground Zero has little to do with the hate. It only gave it an opening for rupture. I've been attacked by my friends for "loving the enemy". Calling all Muslims the enemy is bad enough. But even if they were, we as Christian are still called to love them. So I'm at peace.
"My disapproval of the Center is more out of respect for those who died at Ground Zero. . . For me, it is not a matter of bigotry, it is about showing respect for to the lives that were lost and the healing and forgiveness that stills need to occur."
"Bigotry" is a fairly inflammatory word, and I don't want to be inflammatory, but I'd like to suggest that these arguments are based on bigotry. Why does one group of Muslims need "forgiveness" for the acts of an entirely different group of Muslims that they don't agree with. Why does "respect" restrict their actions when they had nothing to do with 9/11. There's no reason for these claims unless you lump all Muslims together, which is bigotry. Would you think it disrespectful for a black family to move in two blocks away from a place where a black man had committed a horrible race-based hate crime, or a Christian church two be built two blocks away from a place where Christians had carried out horrible acts based on their understanding of their faith? Presumably not, because you don't lump together all black people, or all Christians. So what makes this mosque any different?
Autumnal Harvest – yes, I actually would see it as insensitive and pretty disrespectful. Mug in the same way that I understand how people have been hurt by Christianity and I don't go shoving my faith down their throats. Although I dontbhold the same theology as the people who have hurt them and am mindful and respectful in my relationships with them.
I don't believe the mosque should be built, nor do I think any mosques should be built anywhere in the world. That said, I don't believe any churches, synagogues, temples or any other places of worship should ever be built either. Religion is one of the most harmful inventions ever, and we should be trying to discourage anything that has to do with it rather than tolerate its continued blight on our planet.
am317, I gave several examples, and I wonder if I'm really understanding your response correctly? You really think these examples are all the same, and think it would be insensitive and disrespectful for a black family to move into a house in the vicinity (a two block radius? more?) of a place where a black person commited a race-based hate crime? Really? That's consistent with your opposition to the mosque, but it strikes me as a terrible position to hold.
That Drew C. places the blame on religion generally, rather than Islam, specifically, is interesting. Given that, Tam317, perhaps you should say that no religious organization should be allowed to build anything within several blocks of Ground Zero?
Or how about a non faith based or ecumenical community center? Theres a novel thought..
And yes, I stand by my earlier comment and examples you gave. As a Black woman I wouldn't subject my family to the hostility or pain of the surrounding community or neighborhood. There are other places I can live and thrive in peace and build community. Maybe I am too nice or fearfulnor give deference to others too much…
Just because we have the freedom and ability to do something doesn't necessarily mean that we should or is the wisest move to make.