wfn.org | Churches Support Tolerance Toward Muslims

[Frank Imhoff <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Reply-To: ElcaNews <ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG>
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 2, 1998

CHURCHES SUPPORT TOLERANCE TOWARD MUSLIMS
98-31-183-AH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Churches for Middle East Peace has encouraged its
members to support a resolution in the U.S. House and Senate supporting
religious tolerance toward Muslims.  The Rev. Mark B. Brown of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said, "The use of violence in
the name of religion by extremists must not shape our perceptions of
Muslims globally or locally."
     Brown is associate director for public policy advocacy ministry with
the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs in Washington, D.C.  He said,
"Peacemaking begins at home and we each must work to build bridges with our
Muslim neighbors and foster a climate of goodwill and a shared commitment
for harmony between nations.  How can we ask our government to be an
instrument of peace and tolerance if we fail to do so in our own
communities?"
     Brown said, "The peace that we strive for in Jerusalem must begin at
home by remembering that Muslims as well as Jews and Christians have their
roots in the same family."  The ELCA is a member of Churches for Middle
East Peace, based in Washington, D.C.  Brown chairs the organization's
executive committee.
     The concurrent resolution, introduced by Senators Spencer Abraham
(R-Mich.) and Joseph Leiberman (D-Conn.) and Representatives David Bonior
(D-Mich.) and Tom Davis (R-Va.), condemns anti-Muslim intolerance and
discrimination as "wholly inconsistent" with the American values of
religious tolerance and pluralism.
     "The spiral of violence these past weeks between terrorists acting in
the name of Islam and the government of the United States poses a challenge
for people of faith and good will," said a Churches for Middle East Peace
memo.  Americans feel "threatened and most-likely angry about the hatred
toward the United States exhibited by the bombings of the embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania," the memo said.
     The memo said, "It is now incumbent upon American Christians to take
action that  assures our American Muslim neighbors of the commitment we
share with them for inclusiveness, harmony, peace and justice in the United
States and around the world."
     President Bill Clinton, in his address to the nation on August 20,
asked the world to understand that retaliatory missile strikes were not
aimed against Islam, "the faith of hundreds of millions of good,
peace-loving people all around the world, including the United States."
     The resolution says, "While Congress respects and upholds the right
of individuals to free speech, Congress acknowledges that individuals and
organizations that foster such  intolerance create an atmosphere of hatred
and fear that divides the nation."
     The resolution calls upon Congress to resolve "to uphold a level of
political discourse that does not involve making a scapegoat of an entire
religion or drawing political conclusions on the basis of religious
doctrine" and to recognize "the contributions of American Muslims, who are
followers of one of the three major monotheistic religions of the world and
one of the fastest growing faiths in the United States."
     Members of the ELCA want to learn about Islam, according to the Rev.
Bonnie L. Jensen, director of the church's Division for Global Mission.
"It has a higher profile now, and people want to learn about a major
religion that is an increasing presence in their lives, in their
neighborhoods.  There is a genuine eagerness to learn, a healthy
curiosity," she said.
     Jensen reported that special Islam workshops have attracted more
participation each year at the ELCA's summer Global Mission Events.
"Lutherans want to know how to engage effectively in relationships with
Muslims," she said.
     "The ELCA has a commitment to Christian mission based on respectful
relationships with Muslims," Jensen said.  The church provides funds to
support Islamic studies at two ELCA seminaries, Luther Seminary in St.
Paul, Minn., and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director 1-773-380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html