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Keynote speaker for the event was Rev. Whitney S. Bodman, Th.D., assistant professor of comparative religion at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and an ordained minister and pastor for the United Church of Christ.
Rev. Bodman received his Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School, his Doctor of Theology in comparative religion from Harvard Divinity School and has studied Islam and Christian-Muslim relations at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.
He has been involved in numerous interfaith organizations and is author of Elements of Religion and co-author of Jesus and His Interpreters.
Joining him as panelists were Rev. Michael Buckner Fanning, Ph.D., Father David H. Garcia, Dr. Rama K. Rao, Imam O. Adib Shakir and Rabbi Emeritus Samuel M. Stahl.
Moderator was Ruqayya Y. Khan, Ph.D., assistant professor of Islam at Trinity University.
REV. WHITNEY S. BODMAN, TH.D.
Rev. Bodman opened by recounting an example of ecumenism from America’s colonial days, when the town of Flushing, Long Island, took exception to a prohibition issued by Peter Stuyvesant, governor of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Issued in 1657, it forbade any religion other than that of the Dutch Reformed Church being practiced in the colony, notably singling out the Quakers.
In what came to be known as the Flushing Remonstrance, the townspeople sent back a polite refusal to comply, citing God’s law of love towards all men, and even going so far as to include “Jews, Turks and Egyptians,” noting they too “are considered the sons of Adam.” Not only was this a remarkable statement for its time, but the toleration expressed was founded explicitly in religious obedience to the law of God.
“It is well that we be reminded of this document and the sentiments it expresses,” said Rev. Bodman, “on this day in which there are riots in Pakistan and elsewhere, indignation on behalf of freedom of speech in much of the West, the issue of the Danish cartoon ... very much in the news.”
While it is easy to call for the acceptance of diversity, he said, it is often hard to put this into practice, and he offered three rules of thumb.
First, remember that no incident happens in a vacuum and the violence and hatred exploding throughout the world today is not really about one event or something as seemingly trivial as a cartoon. “It is an accumulation of hurt over months and years,” he said. “It is Iraq and Palestine, suicide bombings and Abu Ghraib and Gitmo and 9/11 and this whole sense that there really is a clash of civilizations, an insidious danger to our way of life.”
Rev. Bodman’s second rule is to “care for the individual,” one aspect of which is not to generalize. “When we read that the Muslim world is erupting in anger, we ought to know that this is not so,” he said, noting that while some Muslims may be reacting violently, “most just walk around, go about their business with a deep sense of hurt.”
He recalled while living in Syria in 1999, a friendly native, on learning Rev. Bodman was an American, asked him, “Why is it that Americans hate us?” “But he didn’t hate me,” said Rev. Bodman. “In fact, he even — being far poorer than I was — insisted on paying my bus fare.”
A third rule of interfaith relations he put forth involves demeanor, how our faith teaches us to react to adversity. Rev. Bodman told of a favorite bumper sticker he had on his car while attending Hartford Seminary. It read: “Be a real revolutionary — practice your faith!” A Muslim friend spotted it and wanted one himself. “And of course the faiths we were practicing were two different faiths,” said Rev. Bodman, “but my sense is the practice of the faith was the same.”
His added one final rule for interfaith harmony: “Though we want to speak endlessly about interfaith relations, about our faith, it is important to shut up and listen!”
IMAM O. ADIB SHAKIR
Speaking next was Imam Shakir, full-time imam with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and resident imam of Masjid Bilal Ibn Ra’bh. Raised in the Baptist tradition, Imam Shakir embraced Al-Islam at the age of 16 and is a regular participant in ecumenical services and interfaith dialogue. He attended the International Interfaith Summit in Rome in 2002 at the invitation of the Focolare community and expressed appreciation that, in the days following the tragedy of 9/11, “some 30 of my brothers and sisters from the Focolare came to stand with us and show unity.”
He pointed out that the parents of all mankind were Adam and Eve, making us therefore one family. “And I think it’s terrible to have hate and disgust and distrust and contempt for your own family members,” he said. “We’re all in this together.”
In addition to sharing the scriptural account of Adam and Eve with the Jewish and Christian faiths, he noted that Islam finds commonality with the Jewish community in Moses and with the Christian community through Jesus and Mary. But even with faiths not sharing this tradition, “we still find commonality,” he said, “with the basic teachings in all religions to be kind, to be caring, loving, don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, be decent. These are the fundamental principles that we find in all religions, so we have common ground there.”
Lastly, he referred to the common ground all faiths share in fighting the evils of the world, assuring the audience that “Al-Islam is a religion of peace,” though, like other religions, it has had its share of members who have done terrible things.
He deplored the negative picture that is often painted of Muslims in the media, noting the only way to counteract negative images of one another is through interaction. “We need to get to know one another,” he said. “God made us different on purpose, but there’s a contribution that all of us can make, and we get to know each other so we can get comfortable to learn what that contribution is.”
Reflecting on the past, he recalled early centuries of Muslim rule in the Middle East and Spain, golden years when all religions were treated fairly and there was no religious discrimination. “There was no mandate that everyone had to become a Muslim,” he noted.
Imam Shakir concluded with three solutions: 1. Recognize there is only one God, regardless of the name your religion calls him, “and that he loves all his servants”; 2. (directed to religious leaders) “Say in private what you say in public” and avoid putting down other faiths when you speak before your congregations, which only creates hostility; and 3. Put God’s word first, “over your personal agenda and personal inclinations.” |