Video
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Archive: September 5, 2010 - September 11, 2010
The notorious Pastor Terry Jones
As an extremist himself, he understands only too well how to incite other extremists
By Sally Quinn | September 10, 2010; 11:01 AM ET | Comments (89)
National security does not "hinge" on mosque
To many Americans, the imam's insistence on linking the construction of the mosque with "national security" appeared almost like a veiled threat. He seemed to be saying to those Americans "give me the mosque or else, your national security is threatened." When 75% of Americans are already against the mosque, this tragedy to me is counterproductive.
By Akbar Ahmed | September 10, 2010; 10:12 AM ET | Comments (8)
We need love, faith and forgiveness
When we forgive al Qaeda, when we put our effort into deeds of compassion and peace, we defeat the idea of al Qaeda.
By Valerie Elverton Dixon | September 9, 2010; 6:45 PM ET | Comments (11)
What's behind negative characterization of Muslims?
This "otherizing" process obfuscates the inherent diversity and world religion status of Islam. It also hides the fact that Muslims disagree among themselves over a good many issues, religious and non-religious. For a long time, Muslims have been bemoaning the false characterization of Islam as monolithic. Now this characterization is being amplified by the increasingly common denial that Islam is a religion at all.
By Asma T. Uddin | September 9, 2010; 12:35 PM ET | Comments (10)
Why do Americans fear Muslims?
It is only in Islam where members fear for their lives if they criticize their religion or what is occurring in its name.
By Ramdas Lamb | September 9, 2010; 4:40 AM ET | Comments (6)
Wounds of 9/11 will never heal!
The wounds of 9/11 will never heal because we lack genuine commitment to find common ground.
By Arun Gandhi | September 8, 2010; 5:15 PM ET | Comments (6)
Fair and equal treatment for Islam
Hating Muslims for no other reason than their religion of birth or choice is indeed "Islamophobia." Holding Muslims and Islam to the same standards of inquiry as other groups, on the other hand, is in fact perfectly legitimate.
By Shmully Hecht | September 8, 2010; 3:41 PM ET | Comments (5)
Hawking and the pope
The more we learn scientifically, the less significant humans seem in our natural world. Darwin showed that humans are simply animals, and Copernicus displaced humanity from the center of the universe. If M-theory turns out to be correct, we might be an unremarkable species living in an unremarkable part of an unremarkable universe.
By Herb Silverman | September 8, 2010; 3:14 PM ET | Comments (25)
Lack of theology as the root of evil
I trust that Protestant spokespersons better skilled than in their theology will not only point out the folly of this Qur'an burning, but take the moment to clarify that there is more to Christianity than individuals making it up as they go along.
By Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo | September 8, 2010; 12:05 PM ET | Comments (3)
Presidential/Vice Presidential Shana Tova
To that I would add that the President demonstrated an appreciation for the Jewish approach to the advent of a new year as a time for renewal and reflection. He even commented on how much he likes hearing the sound of the shofar from the synagogue he lived across the street from in Chicago.
By Nathan Diament | September 8, 2010; 10:12 AM ET | Comments (1)
Countering the surge of Islamic fear with clarity
Too many moderate Christians, especially clergy, have been muted or confusing in their comments about Islam and Muslims. They have been silent or vacillated. Awash in a culture of fear and soaked in confusion, we need more faith leaders with courage and clarity for the common good.
By Robert Parham | September 8, 2010; 9:07 AM ET | Comments (3)
Healing needs more than time -- and more time
No, we have not healed and we won't heal until such time as reconciliation is pursued from both sides, on terms that are equivalent but certainly not equal.
By Jack Moline | September 8, 2010; 8:59 AM ET | Comments (1)
Human condition makes healing impossible
It is ugly and it is dangerous, given the capability of enemies to not only "hate" each other but annihilate each other, but it is part of the human condition.
By Susan K. Smith | September 8, 2010; 1:30 AM ET | Comments (7)
Is healing even possible?
What all groups must remember is that while we can rebuke Islam all we want, that doesn't mean we ought to treat Muslim-Americans improperly. We need to defend their right to worship, build mosques, and run for public office. We need to remember that our respect for people (whatever their religion may be) is more important than our respect for their faith. If we can keep these things in mind, we may not "heal the nation," but we'll be building a nation that's hospitable to people of all religious and non-religious backgrounds.
By Hemant Mehta | September 7, 2010; 11:43 PM ET | Comments (12)
What "we" can say depends on who "we" are
Just as a physician does not heal a patient, but sets up conditions in which the body can heal itself, so will interfaith groups not heal the nation. And it is quite possible that the national body has now become so infected that even the most devoted interfaith groups can only sit and watch the patient die.
By Gene Davenport | September 7, 2010; 11:34 PM ET | Comments (1)
Jewish new year: Rosh Hashanah's spiritual performance review
Rosh Hashana is our annual performance review in the realm of the spiritual. Did we treat those around us with dignity? Did we care for the most vulnerable? Did we have enough patience with our children? Were we forgiving enough to a spouse? Did we make our colleagues feel good about themselves? Did we show appropriate gratitude to God for the many, many blessings in our lives?
By Erica Brown | September 7, 2010; 9:31 PM ET | Comments (0)
Analogy overkill: justice not healing
The nation has not healed from the attacks on 9/11, because an act of war is not a wound or a disease. Terrorists attacked our nation and killed Americans on September eleventh motivated by a radical form of Islam. Until we win the war against terrorism and make radical forms of Islam as unattractive as we have made Nazi ideology, we will not have finished the job that 9/11 started.
By John Mark Reynolds | September 7, 2010; 7:43 PM ET | Comments (2)
Where the rubber hits the road for our Christian faith
So what should have been done? "Do to others as you would have them do to you," says Jesus in Luke 6:31. Fear has trumped love in our society in the years since 9/11 and what we can and need to do now is recommit ourselves to the hard work of loving our neighbor.
By Janet Edwards | September 7, 2010; 5:33 PM ET | Comments (2)
Healing? It's more urgent to understand the problem
9/11 was a faith-based initiative. Well-meaning bromides that try to separate this attack from Islam as the terrorists understood it make the events of that terrible September day incomprehensible.
By Tom Flynn | September 7, 2010; 5:04 PM ET | Comments (4)
"Shame on you": religious leaders denounce biogotry against Muslims
"In recent weeks, we have become alarmed by the anti-Muslim frenzy that has been generated over the plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque at the Park 51 site near Ground Zero in New York City. We recognize that the vicinity around the former World Trade Center, where 2,752 innocent lives were cruelly murdered on 9/11, remains an open wound in our country, especially for those who lost loved ones. Persons of conscience have taken different positions on the wisdom of the location of this project, even if the legal right to build on the site appears to be unassailable. Our concern here is not to debate the Park 51 project anew, but rather to respond to the atmosphere of fear and contempt for fellow Americans of the Muslim faith that the controversy has generated."
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | September 7, 2010; 4:44 PM ET | Comments (4)
Repudiate terror, then work together
It is not easy to live with others. It never has been.
By David Wolpe | September 7, 2010; 1:50 PM ET | Comments (3)
The enemy is us
What part of separation of church and state and "freedom of religion" don't we understand?!
By Max Carter | September 7, 2010; 1:29 PM ET | Comments (7)
We need frank conversations about 9-11 with Muslims
We need to have some very frank conversations about 9-11 itself and how we are coping with it. Much of the Muslim world, including sizable portions of the American Muslim population remain mired in the denial stage of grief. Thus the popularity of 9-11 conspiracy theories.
By Pamela K. Taylor | September 7, 2010; 12:33 PM ET | Comments (48)
God, Gravity, and the New Green Gospel
Hawking and his peers have been laboring over their own version of Genesis for almost two centuries now, beginning with Lyell and Darwin. That long, cross-disciplinary work of producing a new "creation story" is now almost complete, meaning that it's time to sweep the old myth aside, replacing it with something that better suits our needs. We won't see that myth as a myth of course. It wouldn't function if we did. It needs to be true.
By Clark Strand | September 6, 2010; 5:31 PM ET | Comments (11)
The Quran burning: sign of things to come?
A society must abandon basic decencies in order to muster the immoral courage to burn books as a celebratory act. Once it starts burning the souls of civilization, human souls will not be left behind.
By Muqtedar Khan | September 6, 2010; 4:28 PM ET | Comments (195)
Can I get an amen? What to preach about 9/11 this year
This year, some may use the 9/11 anniversary as an occasion to promote fear and hate. But they will not have the last word. Christians, Muslims and Jews are coming together, and working with their own faith communities to stand against fear and hate, and stand for the universal religious value of love of God and neighbor. Is there any better way to honor the victims of the attacks of 9/11 and comfort and support their families? Can I get an amen?
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | September 5, 2010; 9:57 PM ET | Comments (7)
Right thinking and wrong thinking about Muslims
It's no surprise that ignorance leads the way for prejudice.
By Deepak Chopra | September 5, 2010; 8:21 AM ET | Comments (83)
Pluralistic diversity matters
In all this rhetoric the focus seems to be on the religious identity rather than the governance actions that President Obama or for that matter any leader is actually taking.....It is in the country's best interest to leverage this talent and creatively develop solutions to strengthen America. We can learn a lesson from some segments of Corporate America which are able to encourage diverse thinking, are able to harness diverse workforce exceedingly well, resulting in higher productivity through improved work environments.
By Anju Bhargava | September 5, 2010; 1:59 AM ET | Comments (3)
