FOR- Fellowship Magazine - In Spite of Everything, Reason to Hope

There’s more than enough bad news around for everybody. Today my neighbor’s cat died. That solid, practical little Turkish-American mother burst into tears: it was the last straw. How to break it to the children? There has been so much death to explain, and so much fear.

As we go to press, nine hundred hate crimes have been logged against Muslim Americans, as well as some brown-skinned or differently-dressed persons who’ve had the misfortune to be taken for Muslim Americans. While major civil rights go into suspension for at least four years by fiat of Congress, innocuous travelers are being kicked off planes for having the wrong books in their luggage (Karl Marx; a novel with a stick of dynamite on the cover). We hear (but are not yet allowed to see) that innocent Afghans are daily blown to Kingdom Come in a massive national fit of vengeance that is either wholly irrational or wholly cynical: the richest nation on the planet frantically pulverizing one of the poorest, apparently for lack of anything better to do. Or maybe it’s really on account of that planned oil pipeline route from Central Asia.

It’s a sickening prospect either way, if you’re serious about American ideals....and we ought to be. This is not the time to give those ideals up.

Muslims have high ideals too, and likewise have plenty of reason to feel sick these days. The mosque my neighbor and I attend is situated in the suburbs of New York City. One of our fellow congregants worked on the ninety-fifth floor of Tower One. He was gentle and enterprising, and he liked to get to the office early. There is not a trace of Mohammed Shajahan left to return to his old mother, his fragile young wife, and the four confused children under seven years of age who used to play with such joyous laughter in my backyard.

Then that rich guy with the beard has the gall to tell us that this is somehow for the sake of Islam. But we are not about to give those ideals up, either.

Yurdaer Doganata, the imam who convened the funeral prayer for Mohammed Shajahan, said this.

In the name of God Most Merciful, Most Compassionate: We believe and cherish that all human beings in this world, regardless of gender, race, nation, or religion, are blessed with three beautiful lights. The first light is the light of intelligence placed in our heads so that we can tell right from wrong. The second light is the light of consciousness placed in our eyes so that we can take lessons from what we see. The third light is the light of compassion placed in our hearts so that we love God's creation, and through this love we learn how to love Him. How could anyone love God without loving His creation?

On Tuesday September 11th, in front of our eyes, thousands of innocent fathers, mothers, children, sisters, brothers, friends, loved ones, who went to work to bring sustenance to their families, were killed indiscriminately, regardless of age, gender, race, nation, or religion. How could this villainous act be the work of a human being who is honored with these three lights, intelligence, compassion, and consciousness? We fear that this villainous act has another target beyond the innocent lives of the lost, a hidden target: the hearts of the millions. We fear that with the suffering, grief, sadness, and anger inflicted upon our hearts, we will be ready to trade in the light of compassion, one of the most beautiful gifts of God, for the darkness of hatred. If the darkness of hatred drives compassion from the heart, neither the light of intelligence nor the light of consciousness survives. When there is no intelligence, there is no reasoning, there is no religion, there is no humanity. When the darkness of hatred enters the heart, anyone can be a terrorist.

Some of us here, now, may soon be subjected to the hatred of others. Do not retaliate. In this trial, behave with dignity.

The place of the lost ones is the beautiful Garden of Paradise. Those who sacrificed their own lives for the lives of others are the true martyrs. For us who were left behind, I pray, "O Lord, increase our strength so that in your name we can fight the darkness of hatred with the light of compassion. Help us to eliminate the separation of 'you' and 'I,' 'your religion' and 'my religion.' Unite us as one nation, the nation of the human race." Amin.

Many other Americans are offering the same prayer. The result has been an outpouring of generosity that helps us all to behave with dignity in this trial. It’s good to hear some of these stories. We need help to remember that, as always, there’s more going on than bad news.

A report by Caryle Murphy in The Washington Post:

Shortly after last month's terrorist attacks, two bricks ferried handwritten notes with crude, racist remarks through the front window of the Old Town Islamic Bookstore in Alexandria. Store manager Hazim Barakat was angry and frazzled. The Palestinian immigrant also was unprepared for what happened next.

About 15 bouquets of flowers and more than 50 cards-some with money-arrived at his store. People from as far away as Tennessee and Nebraska called with condolences. A local businessman, who would not give Barakat his name, paid for a new window. Christian ministers and a rabbi dropped by to express their support.

"The people in the neighborhood were so nice you don't believe," said Barakat, 44, who runs the store for the American Muslim Foundation. "This is like another family I have. This is my big family. I want to thank everybody."

Two unedited e-mails sent to the Council on American-Islamic Relations:

"I came in to work the other day to find a piece of candy with one of my American colleague's business card on my desk. First I thought he had obtained a new card and he's giving it to me, I did not have time to take a close look or think about it because I had to run to a meeting where he is supposed to be also. When I saw him and said thank you for the candy, I was thrilled by his response:

"‘I hope it won’t come to this, but just in case you don't feel comfortable by what is going on these days, I left you my home address and phone number on the back of my business card. Feel free to give me a call or come in any time, I have enough space in my house for you and your family.’" (circulated by CAIR on September 28)

"I was away on vacation when this incident occurred on Sept 11. My neighbor brought us flowers with a card and left it on the doorstep. I have not met this person in all my 16 years of living in this neighborhood. Her wordings were: ‘To our neighbors, in this time, we want you to know that we are here for you, and it is our sincere prayer that you are not subjected to any unpleasantness. With our best wishes, your neighbors.’" (circulated by CAIR on October 1)

A note from an Arab-American woman in West Virginia, circulated by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee:

"This past Saturday, I was visiting a close friend's grandparent in Bloomery, West Virginia. It was a short, peaceful, visit. I was the only Muslim with the hijab [head scarf] among my group of close friends.

"On our way home, we stopped by a Country Buffet Restaurant for dinner. I was alert, cautious, and aware of my surroundings...we pre-paid for our food and headed to the buffet. Ten minutes after we settled into our seats, the waitress leaned by our table with what appeared to be our money and receipt. We assumed they were going to kick us out.

"What occurred in the next few moments is what I believe to be the blessings and mercy of Allah. She told us on behalf of the restaurant, they wanted to pay for our entire meal and give us a total refund. They were very sympathetic of the innocent lives. The waitress by her own personal expressions, was also sympathetic to the Muslim Community and did not want to see any more innocent lives lost due to war. What struck me the most, that brought tears to my eyes, were her tears. She told me she was proud that I had the courage and strength to come out and wear the appropriate veil.

"This experience gave me a sense of encouragement in the midst of crisis and confusion. There are many who are compassionate and understanding."

From a September action alert from Christian Peacemaker Teams:

Within hours of the attack Tuesday on New York and DC, Jonathan Larson felt the Spirit urging him toward a mosque near his home. The Georgia pastor shared his leading with others on an urban ministry e-mail list: "(A)ll about us now, those of Middle Eastern origin, and Muslims, more generally, will be feeling very vulnerable as the blood-blinded chorus seeking revenge begins to swell. So I have determined to find a masjid/mosque where I might pray with those present."

Jonathan Larson went to prayers at the mosque; "I had an absolutely unforgettable encounter." Larson's witness is spreading: Marilyn McGinnis said that after seeing Jonathan's message, she called the president of the Arab Student Association at Georgia Tech. She offered to bring some cookies to their next meeting, or whatever she could do to show support. He was astonished at the call. "Just by calling you have brought a smile to my face," he said.

Christian Peacemaker Teams urges Christians to look for Middle Eastern or Muslim neighbors to offer support during this upsurge of racist attacks. Discuss whether there are things you can do to help with their safety. Exchange phone numbers, tell them to call in a crisis. Form a small team at church to maintain contact.

From a September press release from the American Muslim Council:

The American Muslim Council received support from the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RACRJ), whose Reform Jewish leaders are outraged at reports of attacks against American Muslims and Arab-Americans. In a statement, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president of the UAHC, and Rabbi David Saperstein, director of RACRJ, emphasized... "We are concerned with reports that some in our nation have directed their understandable anger at Tuesday’s carnage at individual American Muslims and Arab Americans and their mosques and businesses, and condemn all such acts of lawlessness. They also violate what is perhaps a preeminent lesson of Jewish history: the danger of group hatred, of imputing to a group the actions of a few individuals.... We believe that goodness and kindness are more powerful than cruelty. We therefore call on all Americans in their interpersonal dealings, and especially in dealing with those rendered particularly vulnerable by these events, to be fully American and to act with kindness and with courtesy, to seek to express, as Lincoln put it, ‘the better angels of our nature.’"

From an October press release, also from the American Muslim Council:

More than 1,500 people gathered yesterday at the Islamic Society of Central New Jersey’s (ISCJ) open house for an interfaith dialogue..... The Muslim interfaith day at ISCJ was represented by 30 clergy members of various faiths and members of their congregations. The event brought together some families who lost their loved ones in the attacks and the family of the Pakistani Muslim who was killed in his grocery store in Texas.

From a story by Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle:

More than 1,000 worshipers prayed with Imam Hatem Bazian in a Berkeley mosque after the terrorist attacks last month, yet most of those who knelt toward Mecca had no Islamic background and little knowledge of the rituals. But for them, it was still an act of faith.

They were joining their fellow Americans in prayer.

Bazian was stunned by the turnout and amazed to see that many non-Muslim women had donned a traditional Islamic head covering. Many continued to wear it for days after the service as a sign of unity.

"It's astonishing that people will go this far to show their solidarity," said Bazian....

...Helal Omeira, executive director of the Northern California Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations agrees that some good has emerged from the evil.

"I don't remember any official coming out after the Gulf War saying there should not be a backlash," Omeira said. "America's tolerance has evolved."

May we all continue to evolve toward the fullest reflection of the great lights of intelligence, consciousness, and compassion.