At Ramadan, Christians call for respect for Muslim neighbors

>As the observance of Ramadan begins,
>a call for respect for Muslim neighbors

New York, August 11, 2010 -- The National Council of Churches of Christ i n the 
USA, its Interfaith Relations Commission and the Christian participan ts in the 
National Muslim-Christian initiative, have issued the following s tatement:

As our Muslim neighbors begin their observance of Ramadan with fasting, re- 
dedicating themselves to God and God's service, we as Christians are troubl ed 
by fellow Christians in the United States who are expressing intolerance  
against Muslims in words and deeds. 

Christ calls us to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39). It is th is 
commandment, more than the simple bonds of our common humanity, which is  the 
basis for our relationship with Muslims around the world. 

Grounded in this commitment, we question the anti-Muslim tenor of actions a nd 
speech regarding the building of Cordova House and mosque near the site  of the 
former World Trade Center in New York City.  We are keenly aware tha t many 
Muslims, as well as Jews, Christians, Hindus, and others, lost famil y members 
in the attacks on September 11, 2001. We recognize, as does the M uslim 
community around the world, that it was a group of Muslims who embrac ed 
terrorism and teachings counter to the Qur'an and Islam that carried out  this 
action. We stand with the majority of Muslims-including American Musl ims-who 
are working against such radical influences in their communities. T hey have 
our support for building the Cordova House as a living monument to  mark the 
tragedy of 9/11 through a community center dedicated to learning,  compassion, 
and respect for all people.  This effort is consistent with ou r country's 
principle of freedom of religion, and the rights all citizens s hould enjoy. 

We also decry the anti-Muslim actions and plans of many church leaders and  
members, such as those of the Dove World Outreach Center in the U.S.A.  Mis 
guided or confused about the love of neighbor by which Christ calls us to l 
ive,  leaders and members of this church and others are engaged in harassme nt 
of Muslims, and in the planning of an "International Burn the Qur'an Day ," to 
be held on September 11th.   Such open acts of hatred are not a witne ss to 
Christian faith, but a grave trespass against the ninth commandment,  a bearing 
of false witness against our neighbor.  They contradict the minis try of Christ 
and the witness of the church in the world.  

We ask all Christians to promote respect and love of neighbor, and to speak  
and work against extremist ideas, working with Muslims as appropriate, in  
order to live out the commandment to love our neighbor, and to promote peac e.

The National Muslim-Christian Initiative brings together 14 religious bodie s 
from various streams of Muslim and Christian communities, who seek to enh ance 
mutual understanding, respect, appreciation and support of what is Sac red for 
each other through dialogue, education and sustained visible encoun ters that 
foster and nurture relationships.        
                  
Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ  in 
the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Chri stians 
in the United States. The NCC's 36 member faith groups -- from a wid e spectrum 
of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African  American and 
Living Peace churches -- include 45 million persons in more t han 100,000 local 
congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212 ( 
cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org