How easy it is to fall into old patterns.
Remember the days following Sept. 11? In our collective grief and shock, we were, for a time, uniquely caring and compassionate toward one another. I remember driving to work and noticing motorists being more courteous and people, even strangers, just being kinder and gentler.
I was beginning a new job as chaplain at Endicott College. I saw students, faculty and administration reaching out to one another and distinctly recall how college and community reached out to international students, especially Muslim students.
I know it was short-lived, but it is particularly disheartening, nine years later, to see the cacophony of controversy over "the Ground Zero Mosque."
It is not a mosque, nor is it at ground zero. The plans call for an Islamic community center, complete with gym, pool and prayer room, in a building two blocks north of ground zero in a lower Manhattan neighborhood that includes shops, restaurants, churches and office buildings.
In the nine years since the tragedy, it has been impossible to come to any kind of agreement on a suitable memorial for the victims; yet, almost instantly, many are prepared to fight against a Muslim community center being built nearby. I doubt there would be much of a debate if it were another Christian church or a Jewish synagogue.
Grief ecompasses many feelings. Anger, denial, depression and guilt can sometimes be irrational and overwhelming. It is always important to respect the feelings of the victim's families, but it appears they are divided on this issue.
What is truly disrespectful and disturbing is the degree of divisiveness coming from politicians who are using — or rather, abusing — feelings of grief and loss to fuel the flames of a fight ignited by the false assumption that anyone who follows the Islamic faith is responsible for or somehow supportive of the fundamentalist fanatics who carried out that terrorist attack nine years ago.
Not to be outdone by the politicians, the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., has called on all "true Christians" to remember 9/11 by burning a copy of the Quran. It's already been reported that Muslims in other parts of the world are outraged by this "new Christian crusade" to destroy the Quran.
As a Christian cleric, I hope that they know that not all Christians are like these fringe fanatics. I pray that they can tell the difference between genuine faith and radical fundamentalism. After all, it only takes a little common sense to recognize the difference — right?
A wise U.S. president addressed this issue saying, "It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it were by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For, happily, the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support."
It was not President Obama who spoke those words, but George Washington addressing the plight of Jews in 18th-century Newport, R.I., as Hendrik Hertzberg deftly pointed out in an Aug. 16 New Yorker column. Freedom of religion is not only a core value of all credible faith traditions, but part of the fabric of democracy.
As we approach this anniversary, we would do well to heed Washington's wise words and truly honor those who lost their lives on 9/11.
• • •
The Rev. Michael Duda is senior pastor of the First Church in Wenham.
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