This December a group of 17 Minneapolis senior clergy published a half-page advertisement entitled “A Call for Compassion” in the city’s leading newspaper, The StarTribune. These Christian, Unitarian, Universalist, Jewish and Muslim clergy asserted the following propositions (with explanations):
- We “abhor and condemn violence perpetrated in the name of religion. No faith tradition, including Islam, condones hatred and injury toward others, except as distorted by extremists.”
- “We are compelled to stand up and speak out.”
- “Interfaith dialogue is the antidote to religious violence.”
An image of the complete advertisement is available online; it includes a photograph of some of the clergy at this Thanksgiving Day’s Interfaith Worship Service at Westminster Presbyterian Church, which was the subject of a prior post. I urge all to read this important proclamation.
This Call for Compassion is addressed to all people of good will, and as a Christian and member of Westminster, I urge others and myself to do at least the following:
- Never utter comments of hate or derision at another person or his or her religious faith..
- If someone else makes such utterances, say: “Your comment is hurtful and objectionable. You should immediately apologize and never say such things again to anyone.”
- Greet strangers with a smile and a “Hello” or “ Good morning.”
- During Ramadan, when you see someone in what appears to be Muslim attire, say, “Hello, have a meaningful Ramadan.”
- Learn more about religious faiths.
- Learn more about the history and law regarding refugees.[1]
- Learn more about the current plight in 123 countries of 32.2 million refugees and other persons of interest to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.[2]
- Get to know the refugees and Muslims in our midst and their concerns.[3]
- Object to proposals to restrict U.S. receptivity to refugees.
- Let your elected officials know your thoughts on these issues.
- Make financial contributions to organizations that seek to protect refugees, including Minneapolis’ own Advocates for Human Rights and the American Refugee Committee.
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[1] This blog has discussed that history: Refugee and Asylum Law: The Pre-Modern Era (July 7, 2011); Refugee and Asylum Law: The Modern Era (July 9, 2011); Refugee and Asylum Law: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (July 10, 2011); U.S. Process for Screening Refugees (Nov. 24, 2015).
[2] A World of Refugees (March 30, 2012); Global Forced-Displacement Tops 50 Million (June 22, 2014); UNHCR, Global Report 2014 (June 2015); UNHCR, Global Appeal 2016-2017; António Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Remarks to U.N. General Assembly (Nov. 20, 2015).
[3] Smith, Minnesota Muslims talk of backlash against them, StarTribune (Dec. 15, 2015).
Comment: Muslim Parents Advice to Their Children
The New York Times has a moving collection of short essays by Muslim parents around the world about what they tell their children in this period of world-wide hostility to Islam and Muslims.
For example, a parent in Japan says, “I tell my children that they must work 100 times harder, be 100 times kinder, and always be well groomed, just to gain public acceptance in these trying times.”
“I tell them to always be gentle, soft-spoken, and kind so that they cannot be associated with the growing global paranoia around ‘extremist Muslims.’”
A similar article in the Washington Post focuses on what American Muslim parents tell their children.
I urge you to read both articles.
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Ingber, Muslim Parents on How They Talk to Their Children About Hatred and Extremism, N.Y. Times (Dec. 15, 2015), http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/world/americas/muslim-parents-on-how-they-talk-to-their-children-about-hatred-and-extremism.html?ref=world&_r=0;
Uddin & Ahmed, As Muslim-American parents, we’re struggling to keep our kids’ faith innocent, Wash. Post (Dec. 16,2015), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/16/as-muslim-american-parents-were-struggling-to-keep-our-kids-faith-innocent/