Archive for the ‘9/11 anniversary’ tag
If Hate Is the Problem…
By Anya Cordell
from Washington Post
Hatred is a current ‘cool’ fad—but a terribly dangerous one.
Four days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, three innocent men, (Sikh, Muslim and Egyptian Christian) were murdered. The killer of the Sikh victim vowed to “kill the ragheads,” shooting the first person he saw wearing a turban.
A Hindu man was murdered October 4, 2001, and we just marked the 10th anniversary of the day an extraordinary young Muslim, Rais Bhuiyan, was blinded in one eye and left for dead.
Even now, most articles mentioning Muslims continue to elicit strings of comments, many of which genocidally proclaim, “Kill them all.” The anti-Muslim cloud permeates our atmosphere; coloring perceptions, inciting bullying, assaults and policies.
Interfaith Relations Ten Years On
by Kim Lawton
from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly
Ten years after 9/11, relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in the US remain complicated. In many areas, tensions have been on the rise. There has been sharp controversy surrounding a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero, and according to pew, proposed mosques in 36 other locations have also encountered community resistance. There’s also been a growing debate over Islamic religious law or shariah. Measures to restrict or ban the use of shariah have been introduced in nearly two dozen states. Yet in other areas the last 10 years have brought a new spirit of dialogue and cooperation.
Webinar: 10 Strategies to Respond to the Rising Hate in the U. S.
Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:00am U.S. Central Time | |
In the ten years since September 11, 2001, the United States has experienced both an increase in interreligious cooperation as well as a marked escalation in hate. Religious communities are in a unique position to build bridges of understanding among communities and neighbors. This webinar will offer 10 practical ways that individuals, organizations, and congregations can respond to this challenge.
Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid is Chair of the Board of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. He is president of Sound Vision Foundation, which runs the daily program Radio Islam, and he is former Chairperson of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. He has written extensively on religion, public policy, and applied aspects of Islamic living. Imam Mujahid led a joint campaign between American Muslims and the National Organization of Women (NOW) to declare rape a war crime.
Title: 10 Strategies to Respond to the Rising Hate in the U. S.
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM CDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees:
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees:
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/202440766
Looking to the Future: A Post-9/11 Pledge
by Rabbi Or Rose
from Huffington Post
As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approached I, like so many others, began to reflect on the events of that devastating day, and all that has transpired in our country and throughout the world since. I also began to think about the future and what life might look light 10 years from now. What kind of society will my young twins — now in preschool — live in as post-bar and bat mitzvah teens? As a rabbi and interfaith educator, I am particularly concerned about the role of religion in helping to create a more just and compassionate world.
Since the attacks on 9/11 and various events following it created serious challenges for inter-religious cooperation, I decided to reach out to colleagues from other faiths to see if we could formulate a shared vision statement. Thankfully, Rev. Bud Heckman of Religions for Peace USA and Valarie Kaur of Groundswell at Auburn Theological Seminary were working on similar projects, so we decided to draft what became the following pledge, with help from advisers at our respective organizations.
If any one of us had written this document alone it would certainly read differently than the current text, but our intention was to see what we could say together, knowing that we hold different beliefs and opinions, and that we also share key values in common. We are grateful to the dozens of religious leaders that have lent support to this effort by signing their names to this pledge. It gives us renewed hope that our religious communities can work together to create a better future.
If this statement speaks to you, we invite you to add your name to the list of signatories and to share the text with family, friends and community members. It is our prayer that this document — imperfect, to be sure — might be helpful to others in strengthening their commitment to religious pluralism, to justice, and to the healing of our broken and beautiful world.
Religious and Spiritual Leaders Reflect on 9/11
Imam Examines Current Relations between Law Enforcement and Muslims
Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid
from NPR’s Worldview
CPWR Board Chair Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid is interviewed about 9/11’s impact on American Muslims.
In a 2003 article, he likened the situation for Muslim Americans to a “virtual internment camp.” Although he says law enforcement outreach has been strong locally, Mujahid wants to see more engagement on the national level.
Out of the Shadows of 9/11
Auburn Seminary, Millennials, Moral Vision, and Movement-Building
by Valarie Kaur
“We need to have an ‘American spring’… nonviolent change where people from the grassroots get involved again.” – Former Vice President Al Gore, August 2011
We’re hungry for a movement. Faith and moral communities around the globe are tired of politics that maintain the status quo. Here in the U.S., a rising generation is finding brave new ways to channel moral vision into action: we’re marching in the streets for immigration reform, holding the banner of marriage equality, pushing back on anti-Muslim rhetoric, and demanding an end to partisan politics.
But we’re not being heard. A small segment of the American population still holds the monopoly over ‘morality’ on the airwaves and in the halls of power. As we near the end of the 9/11 decade, these voices continue to dominate public discourse and proclaim the language of faith for restrictive political agendas, stripping the dignity of immigrants, denigrating LGBT people, and fueling anti-Muslim ideologies.
The moment is ripe for people from across faith and moral communities to take action. This ten-year anniversary of 9/11, our congregations and communities are holding vigils, walks, hearings, screenings, and community service projects that stand for compassion, renewal, and religious diversity in all 50 states. What would happen if we connected the dots and saw ourselves as part of one movement? What would happen if we announced ourselves as part of a groundswell of people across faiths and beliefs committed to heal and repair the world?
We could form the beginning of a new multifaith movement for justice.
I’m part of a multifaith coalition, based out of Auburn Seminary in New York City but extending across the country, working to inspire a groundswell of community this ten-year anniversary of 9/11. We’re chronicling, connecting, and resourcing events across the U.S. that bring people together in healing and hope. We’re inviting people to sponsor Ribbons of Hope to New York City, which we will weave into a diverse tapestry that represents the groundswell. And we are mobilizing a multifaith network to surge into national and local media to eclipse anti-Muslim rhetoric and ideologies – now and through the 2012 election.
We believe that the end of the 9/11 decade marks the rise of a new generation ready for meaningful change. The Millennial generation, young people born roughly in the 1980s and 1990s, belong to the most open and diverse generation the country has seen. We form real and virtual communities that transcend old divides: right and left, black and white, religious and secular At the same time, we have come of age in the shadow of major crises: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the threat of climate change, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a punishing economic recession. Many of us mobilized to elect President Barack Obama but widespread disillusionment with the political process has since set in. We want a movement that’s not about a political identity, particular tradition, but a shared moral vision for a better world.
We don’t need to wait for this moral center to emerge. Thousands of faith and moral communities across the U.S. are already working from a sense of moral calling that has nothing to do with politics – alleviating poverty, protecting immigrants, and facilitating multifaith cooperation this 9/11 anniversary for example. They’re just working alone. The light of social justice flickers in brave corners but fizzles in isolation. To achieve meaningful change in a networked society, we must shine that light in a bold constellation.
With the rise of a new generation, innovations in online organizing, and widespread hunger to respond to social challenges as interconnected, we can build a movement of faith and moral communities networked for change in the run-up to the 2012 election. Together, we offer a brand new voice in the political system – faith and moral communities willing to transcend old divides, organize around shared moral imperatives, and take action on urgent social causes. America needs this voice, now more than ever, to come from outside Washington, rather than from within it. We just need to proclaim our voice as one, starting now. Join the groundswell.
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Valarie Kaur, director of Groundswell, is an award-winning filmmaker (Divided We Fall, 2008), Harvard-trained theologian, and social justice advocate. She studies at Yale Law School, where she teaches visual advocacy as director of the Yale Visual Law Project. Housed at Auburn Seminary, Groundswell is a new multifaith social action network that generates the moral force around urgent social causes.
Want to learn more? Auburn Seminary will host a special teach-in “Out of the Shadows of 9/11: Millennials, Moral Vision, and the Global Groundswell” with thought leaders, including Valarie Kaur, on September 6th at 7pm in New York City. Click here to RSVP or to watch live streaming.
Join the groundswell. Send a Ribbon of Hope to Ground Zero on 9/11/11.
