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.