Statement on the Islamic Center proposal

This is an Aug. 30 statement from The Reverend Dr. Robert Alan Rimbo, Bishop of the New York Metropolitan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We live in a continuing, escalating culture of fear. If we succumb to that fear, terrorism and extremism will be able to claim another victory. Rather, it is my hope and prayer that the energy surrounding this proposal can be directed to confronting our fears. Factual information may help. Regardless of your opinions about whether or not a Muslim community center and/or mosque should be located in lower Manhattan, this is a time for us to be sensitive to one another and for us, as Christians, to learn more about Islam, one of the world’s major faith traditions, our “cousins” in Abrahamic faith. Islam is complex, just as Christianity is complex. I would not want the world to judge all of Christianity on the basis of a few violent extremists; so, too, we should not condemn all of Islam because of a strand of that tradition. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, leader of the proposed downtown center, is of the Sufi tradition, the most mystical of the branches of Islam and, in my opinion, the most tolerant and pluralistic. Sufism has itself been seen as guilty of infidelity to the tradition by the more fundamentalist versions of Islam and has been a target of Jihadist violence. The quotable conclusion of a recent opinion piece by William Dalrymple in the August 16, 2010, /New York Times/ offers insight: “Sufism is an entirely indigenous, deeply rooted resistance movement against violent Islamic radicalism. Whether it can be harnessed to a political end is not clear. But the least we can do is to encourage the Sufis in our own societies. Men like Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf should be embraced as vital allies, and we should have only contempt to those who, through ignorance of political calculation, attempt to conflate them with the extremists.” There are thoughtful, well-reasoned arguments on both sides of the debate about locating the Islamic Center and Mosque near ground zero. One must ask, “What is near? What are the geographic boundaries of that?” There is much pain very near the surface of our emotions with regard to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. But how will preventing this center from being constructed help us to deal with that pain? There is great fear driving our lives today. How do persons of faith respond to that fear? We commend ourselves to the reliable and merciful arms of the God of Abraham, the God whom Jesus calls Abba, the God whom Muslims and Christians in various parts of the world call Allah. This God promises a reign in which all shall be well. Our faith is bigger and stronger than all our fears. Deacon William E. Kauffman St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Port Jervis, N.Y.