Repudiate terror, then work together

After 9/11 President Bush reminded Americans that the attack was the work of a few terrorists and not the Muslim people. "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam," Bush said a few days after 9/11. President Obama reached out to Muslims worldwide in his 2009 Cairo speech, where he insisted that "America is not -- and never will be -- at war with Islam." Yet partly because of the furor over the "mosque" near Ground Zero, a new wave of anti-Muslim feeling has arisen. Gen. Petraeus recently spoke out against a planned burning of the Qur'an by a church in Florida, an act which Petraeus says threatens American operations in Afghanistan and harms America's image in Muslim countries.

Did we (Muslim and non-Muslims) do enough after 9/11 to heal the nation? If not, what should we have done? What more can we do now?

To the question "did we do enough" the answer is "no." One can always do more. The question is, given the realistic limitations of attention and human affairs, who ought to have done what?

The first thing I would have wished to see was a million man march. By Muslims. Editorials in every newspaper. By Muslims. I remember when the horrible atrocity was committed by Baruch Goldstein, walking into a mosque and shooting people at prayer in the name of Judaism and Israel. Every rabbi I know thundered against it from the pulpit, and those who did not were anathematized. There were large demonstrations in Israel protesting the atrocity. Although there were, and tragically remain, a small minority for whom he is some kind of martyr, no one could doubt for a moment where Jews stood. They wanted to emphatically declare that this was at odds with what they understood of their faith.

Yet we live in a world where the voices of Muslim moderation are sadly unthunderous. Where sophisticates like Tariq Ramadan must equivocate when asked if stoning women should cease. Yes, the Muslim community could, should do more.

And we should do more to help and encourage. When we had a unity concert at our synagogue, the presence of Muslim worshippers was profound and important. There need to be more cross-cultural invitations. More friendships. More sincere attempts to understand the other. But first we must have the common ground that repudiates terror, holocaust denial, calls to genocide, the oppression and genital mutilation of women, primitive punishments (such as the prospective fate of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in Iran). And on the other side, we must cease gratuitous insults to another's faith, the reprehensible plan to burn the Quran, the assumption that every Muslim harbors evil intentions - all these things together have to be ventured to create a decent, peaceful polity.

It is not easy to live with others. It never has been. The Bible is filled with the clashes of groups, families, tribes, faiths. But we are all under the sovereignty of one God, and we are all God's children. The Bible begins not with an adherent of one or another faith, but with Adam and Eve, who represent all people. Perhaps this New Year will help us take that greatest of truths more to heart.

By David Wolpe  |  September 7, 2010; 1:50 PM ET Save & Share:                 
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