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It's been an active news week in Religion and Spirituality.
9/11 commemorations are the obvious spiritual events of the week. But, having been there (my office was 10 blocks away, and I saw it happen) I am reluctant to live through it one more time. Besides, my heart aches on this week for the families of firefighters, police and EMTs who died in everyday acts of heroism -- all those noble men and women who died in service, yet are not memorialized with such passion, and with such benefit to their families. I will leave the discussion of 9/11 and its spiritual impact to others this year.
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IMAM W. DEEN MOHAMMED
Then there was the death and funeral of the great Imam W. Deen Mohammed, referred to by the Network of Spiritual Progressives as a leading voice of rationality, love and goodness in the Muslim American community.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center described the historical importance of the Imam's passing by saying in an email from the Shalom Center:
Imam Mohammed, 74, was the son of Elijah Muhammad, the
founder of the "Nation of Islam." After his father's
death in 1975, Imam Mohammed led his community to
mainstream Islam. Those who followed him took a path
similar to that of El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz ("Malcolm
X" ) in his last months after his pilgrimage to Mecca,
leaving racial and ethnic animosity behind in the true
spirit of Islam.
The Chicago Tribune's obituary concluded:
Mohammed was also deeply committed to building bridges
between African-American Muslims and the increasing
numbers of immigrants from the Middle East and Asia. ...During his
final years, Mohammed lived quietly in a modest home in
south suburban Markham. He headed a charitable
organization, Mosque Cares, and spoke to congregations
across the nation.
Sisterdoc provides a good summary of the Imam's history, and reprints the reactions of people in Detroit who heard him speak recently in Detroit.
Dynamite Soul recalls her associations with the communities supported by Imam W. D. Mohammed.
When I look at the dedication of this man, I can tell the work he and
his community intended to do. Even my aunt who is a non-Muslim knew the reputation of Warith Deen. He made being Muslim in America "not so hard".
Imam Mohammed became the first Muslim to deliver an invocation to the U.S. Senate. In 1996 he met with Pope John Paul II. In 1993 and 1997, he recited from the Koran at President Clinton's two inaugural interfaith Prayer Services. His life, worthy of study beyond this blog, was spent in opposition to divisive theology and in favor of education, inclusion and peace.
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CONFERENCE OF EVANGELICALS ON TORTURE
Today was the final day in a two-day conference in Atlanta sponsored by the group "Evangelicals for Human Rights". The conference title was:
"A National Summit on Torture - Religious Faith, Torture and our National Soul".
I see things like this and my heart leaps up. Then I read Michelle's blog at Metcentricities that points to accompanying research of Southern American Evangelicals and their views on torture. Michelle quite rightly states :
The findings are deeply disturbing. One thing that strikes me so clearly about this is the complete disconnect between evangelicals’ supposed adherence to biblical literalism and their political beliefs. Here are some findings from the poll:
* Only 22% of those surveyed believe that torture is never justified. The rest think it can be rarely, sometimes, or often justified. Will someone tell me where in the Bible Jesus said that torturing your enemies was OK?
* 48% think that the “golden rule” isn’t relevant to torture - the golden rule being that things that one wouldn’t want to be used against the US shouldn’t be used against others. I take this to mean that 48% of the evangelicals in this poll would redact Matthew 7:12 from the Bible.
* Even those who use Christian teachings, 42% think torture can be sometimes or often justified. I really want chapter and verse on that one
*
Still, it is important that influential evangelicals are gathering to raise this issue and to witness to their own community and beyond that not all conservative Christians believe in the same things. Hopefully this will increase both activism and discussion.
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As I said, it's been a full week.
Mata H, Contributing Editor for Religion and Spirituality also blogs until her soul shakes at Time's Fool
