Burning Faith

One would not think that the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks would draw special attention in the media and culture at large. In regard to momentous events like this, we usually reserve our special focus for dates that seem like more of a landmark--one year, five years, ten years, twenty-five years, and so forth. But 9/11 has this year asserted itself into our consciousness unexpectedly, primarily, though not entirely, when the Reverend Terry Jones, pastor of a tiny Florida church, announced his plans for a public burning of two hundred Qur'ans this Saturday. Social media sites and then national news outlets picked up the story, which quickly became the focus of international outrage.

As I write this, it is unclear whether Reverend Jones will follow through with his threat, saying that he would cancel the event depending on what he declared as a promise that the planned Islamic Center near Ground Zero in Manhattan would be either scrapped or moved to another site. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, leader of the NYC project, has denied any such promise, and the supposed negotiator of the deal in Florida, Imam Muhammad Musri, has suggested Reverend Jones misunderstood him. Regardless, many are drawing a sigh of relief as it appears that the book burning will not take place, at least not on the scale as Reverend Jones originally planned it.

Unlike the debate over the Park51 project in lower Manhattan, Reverend Jones's plans received near-universal condemnation, even by those who oppose the building of the Islamic center. He managed to get the direct attention of General David Petraeus and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and more than his fifteen minutes of fame on all sorts of media outlets. Many have questioned how it is that a pastor of such a tiny church could cause such an international uproar, pointing fingers at the Internet and the media for giving him a stage and blowing his threats out of proportion in a way that endangered many lives.

Notwithstanding that both the Park51 project and Jones's planned Qur'an burning concern matters of the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of free exercise of speech and religion, and both touch on Islamaphobia, the two brouhahas are not really comparable. The Qur'an burning is clearly an angry, malicious idea, planned with the intent to hurt and outrage Muslims. But it's hard to find such hateful motives within the Park51 project's planners, whose intentions seem ultimately aimed toward healing and reconciliation. Even those who oppose the project would be hard-pressed to locate evil intent in the words of Imam Rauf, who has appeared soft-spoken and even media-shy in his responses to the controversy.

Yet, for all the media hype and Reverend Jones's apparent love of the limelight, and despite the dangers posed by his threats, it's possible that this situation has the potential to do the American public a few favors. First, Reverend Jones is utterly embodied evidence to the entire nation that extremists are by no means limited to Islam in our modern world. Of course, Jones protests that Christians have not been guilty of the sorts of terroristic practices of Muslim extremists, or of their violent protests. But that overlooks the many ways that Christian-identified groups and individuals have in fact been sources of violence and death both in America and abroad.

Surely it was one or more Christians who were behind the recent arson of the construction site for a mosque in Murfreesburo, Tennessee. Timothy McVeigh, the perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombings, was part of a so-called Christian militia group. Dr. George Tiller, and other abortion providers, have been murdered by Christian pro-life activists. Northern Ireland for years was a land torn apart by terroristic disputes between Protestants and Roman Catholics. And, if one looks closely, there are innumerable murderous conflicts and war crimes perpetrated by individuals and groups claiming to be acting in the name of Christ. The authenticity of the Christianity in which these crimes have been committed is not really the issue here, but the fact that the Christian religion as much as Islam or Judaism or any other religion may be misused for such nefarious ends.

But, even more important than the face that Reverend Jones gives to Christian extremism, is the way that this planned Qur'an burning is in fact simply an extension of the many tragic ways that American foreign policy has antagonized the Muslim world over many years, and especially since 9/11. None of us dare condemn Reverend Jones too vociferously without also confessing and repenting of the ways, both active and passive, we have given sanction to other actions that have demeaned and destroyed Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere. We may not have burned Qur'ans, but we too conveniently overlook the other ways that we have deemed those of the Islamic faith to be violent, backwards, or heretics worthy of our condemnation and disrespect.

In his press conference today, President Obama reminded us that we are not at war with Islam, a point that President George W. Bush also frequently iterated. Those are important words to hear, and to be reminded of. Yet, it would be disingenuous to think that no Islamophobia or religious intolerance has played any role in our wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, or against Al Qaeda and other terrorists. Policies intended to keep us safe have frequently bordered on or spilled over into ethnic profiling. The opposition to the Park51 project--and even President Obama's refusal to comment on its "wisdom," demonstrate that we are far more conflicted and inconsistent on these ideals than we would like to believe.

In this week's lectionary texts, we have many pitfalls and opportunities relative to this year's 9/11 events. The Hebrew Bible lessons have too often been misused to justify religious intolerance and to assume the role of God in opposing those who believe differently, perhaps even by Reverend Jones himself. This could be a time to reclaim these texts to set forth a vision of a God to whom all people belong in love, regardless of faith. The Gospel lesson, likewise, may be misappropriated by labeling those of different faiths as being "sinners" as opposed to the Christian righteous who need no repentance. Here the preacher may convey a fresh understanding of welcome and fellowship, putting the focus on rejoicing at God's reconciling power.

Even more powerfully, the reading from 1 Timothy invites us all to see ourselves as ones who have received mercy despite the ways that we have acted ignorantly in unbelief--both the ignorance of intolerance, as well as the ignorance of passivity in the face of injustice. Rather than condemning Reverend Jones, we are reminded that we, like Paul, have also been delivered by Christ from our former identities as blasphemers, persecutors, and people of violence--with the caution that we may too easily fall back into those ways. Focused on Jesus, who has shown us mercy, we need not act out of fear, violence, or ignorance but, rather, be, like Paul, "an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life." This is not a call to an condescending evangelism, but a reminder that "the grace of our Lord [which} overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" is overflowing for us and all humanity, regardless of faith, as well.