wfn.org | Christian, Muslim tell NCC board of need for understanding

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 27, 2002       News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
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NEW YORK (UMNS) - A former Congressman and an Islamic leader made pleas for
more dialogue and greater understanding between Christians and Muslims
during the Feb. 25-26 meeting of the National Council of Churches' executive
board.

"Most of my constituents would be astounded to know that Allah is the
(Muslim) word for God," said Paul Findley, an active Presbyterian layman and
former Congressman from Illinois. While in Congress, he served with the Rev.
Robert Edgar, a United Methodist pastor and the NCC's chief executive.

Findley said he was ignorant about Islam until he made a trip to South Yemen
in 1974, in an attempt to aid an Illinois man imprisoned there, and spent
hours talking to his guide about religion. "I was 52 years old before I
knowingly had a conversation with a Muslim," he added.

His subsequent journey toward understanding led to the production of a small
document explaining Islam to non-adherents for Muslims to distribute, called
"A Friendly Note from Your Muslim Neighbor."

Findley also became convinced of the need for a book on the subject of
interfaith understanding, which he has devoted the past few years to
writing. Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam was
published last summer.
 
Sayyid Syeed, chief executive of the Islamic Society of North America,
recalled how the fear of an unknown group led neighbors in Plainfield, Ind.,
a suburb of Indianapolis, to court in the 1970s in an ultimately
unsuccessful attempt to stop his organization from establishing its
headquarters "right in the middle of the Bible belt." The society had
originated as the Muslim Student Association of the United States and Canada
some 20 years earlier.

Although relations with the community improved, the organization was
targeted again after coincidentally holding its annual convention in
Oklahoma City in the days immediately before the terrorist bombing of the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Syeed had just returned
to Indiana when he learned of the bombing and that an Oklahoma congressman
had accused the society of using its meeting as a "cover" for Islamic
terrorists.

For several days, until it became apparent that the bombing had been an act
of domestic terrorism, the media besieged the society, and several Islamic
centers around the country were attacked. "We had to explain what we were,
what we stood for," he said.

But he didn't have to explain to the people of Plainfield, who arrived "and
expressed their sense of confidence and trust" that no believing Muslim was
capable of such an act. The community, Syeed added, had matured.

After the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, it was clear to Syeed that "America
had matured." This time, he said, politicians were careful about making
accusations, the media did not rush to judgment, and groups of young people
from local churches came to the society's headquarters bearing flowers and
good wishes.

"We had a flow of people coming to visit to express their solidarity and
support," Syeed said. "This was not just Plainfield this time. It was
happening coast to coast."

But the hate between peoples that festered over the past millennium has not
been erased, and he told the NCC board members that religious groups must
work together to overcome that hate. 

In the wake of Sept. 11, Edgar and other NCC leaders established regular
dialogues with Muslim leaders. The executive board also re-affirmed its
commitment to interfaith relations and voted to develop new funding for that
work by July 2003. Until then, three member communions - the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian Church (USA) and United Church of
Christ - are providing support for interfaith relations staff members.

In other business, NCC executive board members heard a report from Phil
Young, chairman of the finance and administration committee, who predicted a
balanced budget when the agency's 2001-2002 fiscal year ends on June 30.
"The projections that we have made are as accurate as possible," he said.

By continuing to control expenses - the NCC has decreased its budget by more
than $1 million, tightened internal controls and reduced its staff from 54
to 36 - and maintaining current funding, especially from member
denominations, Young expects revenue and expenses to balance out. Currently,
total revenues are projected at $5,737,219 and expenses at $5,736,894.

Clare Chapman told United Methodist News Service that she and other United
Methodist members of the Finance and Administration Committee believe a
balanced budget could be achieved. "The expense line, we feel, is on
target," she said. "Revenue is always a question, but we're cautiously
optimistic."

NCC executive board members also:

7	Passed a resolution addressing slavery, human rights violations,
military operations, freedom of religion and other issues in the African
country of Sudan. Church World Service, the NCC's humanitarian aid agency,
adopted the same resolution last October.
7	Elected Ann Riggs, a Quaker who has worked ecumenically for the U.S.
Roman Catholic bishops for the past five years, to the post of director of
faith and order.
7	Learned that an NCC-sponsored delegation of religious leaders will
visit Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine April 17-27.
7	Were urged to join other NCC members and participate in an
international Habitat for Humanity building project in Durban, South Africa,
and visit to South African churches and mission projects May 26-June 10.
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United Methodist News Service
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