A Christian Response to the “Ground Zero Mosque”
"Fear engenders fear. It never gives birth to love."
Jul 29th, 2010 | By Skye Jethani | Category: Culture, Faith, Features, Politics[NOTE: This post originally appeared on The Washington Post's "On Faith" website.]
Governmental, religious, and cultural leaders on all sides have already spoken, written, or tweeted about the proposed Islamic cultural center near the World Trade Center site in Manhattan. So when my friend Eboo Patel asked me to add my voice to the noise, I wasn’t sure what new perspective I could offer.
An expert in constitutional law might see the Cordoba House controversy as a First Amendment issue and demand that the Muslim-Americans organizing the project be allowed to proceed without impediment. A politico might see the matter as an opportunity to score easy points with constituents (right or left) by supporting or denouncing the “Ground Zero mosque.” And a member of the media might see the issue as a powder keg guaranteed to draw an audience and therefore pursue whatever means to keep the controversy alive. But I’m not a lawyer, a politician, or a journalist. I’m a pastor. And when I look at the matter it isn’t the legal or political arguments that get my attention–it’s the fear.
Some with objections about the Cordoba House say it would be disrespectful to the 9/11 victim’s families and stand as an insensitive reminder of the religious intolerance that motivated the attacks. Certainly no one wishes to add any burden to the unimaginable pain already carried by these families. And although I do not know the organizers of the Cordoba House, I trust they share this sentiment as numerous Muslims were among the innocent victims on 9/11.
But objections to the Islamic center in Lower Manhattan have gone far beyond sensitivity to victims’ families. Some are saying the Cordoba House represents a “beachhead for Shariah” in the United States. In his article opposing the project, Newt Gingrich wrote, “America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization.” And a self-identified “Christian” website has been launched to fight the project. It calls upon other concerned Christians to take a “stand against evil” by donating to the site.
These examples, and there are many others, reveal how fear is being used to foment anger and political zealotry. Somehow we are to believe that the construction of a 15-story Islamic community center in New York City will be a tipping point leading to the decline of American civilization, the dissolution of Christian faith, and the reversal of hundreds of years of western legal precedent. Amid the panic, opponents of the Cordoba House might be shocked to discover that a mosque has been meeting in the same neighborhood, two blocks from the proposed Cordoba House and four blocks from Ground Zero, for the last 30 years. One wonders how our republic has survived? (Pardon my sarcasm, but sometimes humor is the best way to defuse irrational fears.)
Sadly the fear-mongering demonstrated by some opponents of the Cordoba House has become commonplace in our partisan society. Fear has proven to be a very effective political tactic for both conservatives and liberals, and it’s also a guaranteed way for Christian ministries and non-profit groups to grow their lists and fill their coffers. This is what concerns me most about the present controversy–not the possibility of a Muslim community center near Ground Zero, but how many within my evangelical community are responding from the most un-Christian of motives: fear.
Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are some of the most familiar, beautiful, and radical ideas found in the Bible (Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7). He calls his followers to give generously, put aside anger, vengeance, and greed, live without worry, and even love their enemies. Many read Jesus’ instructions and admire their beauty but scoff at their impracticality. “In this world it makes no sense to love your enemies,” is what I hear from Christians and non-Christians alike. And they are right. In a dangerous, chaotic, and threatening world where self-preservation is the highest goal, these teachings defy logic. This is why Henri Nouwen wrote, “Fear engenders fear. It never gives birth to love.”
As long as we primarily view the world is a dangerous place, we will never find the power to obey Jesus’ teachings. This is why he begins his Sermon on the Mount with a new vision of the world as a perfectly safe place for those who entrust themselves to Christ. He presents a world in which the poor, the forgotten, the mourning, and the meek are blessed by God; and a world where death itself is overcome. Only when we see this as a God-with-us world in which our lives and wellbeing are eternally in his care can we abandon fear and answer, by faith, the dangerous and irrational call to love. Perhaps this is why one of the most common commands in the Bible is “do not be afraid.” Fear, not doubt, is the great enemy of faith.
So when I see leaders, both political and religious, stoking the fears of Christians regarding the Cordoba House project, it strikes me as profoundly un-Christ-like. Despite their stated intentions, those seeking to inflate your fears about the presence of Islam in America are not inspiring you to be more Christian, but less. They are not leading us toward faith in Christ, but away from him. Because where the raging fires of fear and anger are fed, the inviting glow of Christ-centered faith and love cannot long endure. And such provocations are not leading us to love our Muslim neighbors as ourselves, but instead causing us to believe that our wellbeing necessitates their misfortune. And such “us versus them” conceptions are antithetical to everything Jesus taught and modeled. It is not Christian faith.
Rather than seeing the growing visibility of Islam in the United States, whether through the construction of the Cordoba House or any number of mosques around the country, as a threat to Christianity and reacting out of fear, we can choose to seize this as a new opportunity to reaffirm our trust in Jesus Christ, love our Muslim neighbors, and seek what is good for them as a true incarnation of Christian faith.
I do hope the organizers of the Cordoba House project will proceed with great sensitivity to the victims’ families, and will seek to increase their efforts to communicate how the facility and the programming it contains will honor the memory and sacrifices of those lost on 9/11. And whether or not the Islamic community center is built near Ground Zero, I can offer my Christian sisters and brothers this good word: Be not afraid.
Popularity: 66% [?]
Skye-excellent piece. You are an important voice in this conversation.
[...] A Christian Response to the “Ground Zero Mosque” Politics, Theology Cordoba House, Faith, Fear, Islam, skye jethani Being “with God” on I-77 » [...]
Was Jesus tolerant of the teachers of his time, the keepers of the law? Or did He tell them they would not enter heaven unless they repented and followed him? Is that fear-mongering, too? Be not afraid, be not afraid to stand up for Christ in our secular society!
I love this piece, and I think you are right altogether.
In response to Alex’s comment, Christ did object to the teachers of his time, and disputed with them. But he did not call on his disciples to hate, opress, or fight against the Pharisees and others like them. Rather, Jesus often sat down with the Pharisees, and spoke his message to them as well. I think there is a misunderstanding about the nature of tolerance. Tolerance of Islam, for example, does not mean being a Muslim, or even considering Islam a path to God. I do not believe that Christ would do either. Rather, it means not abusing the power, political, and otherwise, that we have to oppress Muslims. Christ never sought to spread his message through power, but through love and by example. To try to do otherwise is not only unchristian, but ineffective. After all, what Muslim is likely to turn to Christ, after he or she has been shown only hatred and abuse by Christians?
Excellent piece, Skye. I hope many will read this and be encouraged.
Alex – Christ did indeed confront the teachers of His time, leaders within His own faith who were propagating fear and injustice to others. Your own example affirms Skye’s point and further calls us to more strongly confront our fellow believers when they use Christ’s name to further fear or injustice.
It is regrettable you did not approach this from a more Biblical perspective, instead choosing to mock the concerns of those who have voiced them and dismissing them offhand as illegitimate without consideration. There is also very real concern to the fact that you wrote this at the request of someone who did not have the common courtesy to avoid offending a Christian audience at the Q conference there in the shadow of G0 a few years ago.
Heard Skye on Moody radio today and couldnt agree more about a Christian response to the mosque near ground zero. I have tried to share the same feelings / response to Christians I talk with. Keep it up. Praise God for your wisdom, insights and love.
i can “love” the neighborhood drunk, but i am sure as shootin’ NOT going to vote for them to build him a new BAR!
muslims need to be RESCUED from their evil political/religion. wave the warning flag, and rescue them from the fire.
@agcereniv
Skye actually did incorporate a Biblical perspective into his response, specifically referencing the Sermon on the Mount as well as other themes that run through the New Testament. You did not specify any Biblical perspective in your comment that would justify the “concerns” of people who oppose Cordoba House.
@Terry
Your comment fails on a couple of levels. First, no one has to vote for or contribute to the Cordoba House project. They own the land and have the right to build there. This is an issue of trying to block someone doing something completely legal simply because of their faith.
Additionally, you may view their religion as evil, but that presumably comes out of your characterization of all faiths other than you own as being morally dubious. This is a free country and you can say that, but it is an incredibly slippery slope if you believe we should legislate against anything that the majority group finds morally dubious.
And of course, if you claim to be Christian, Skye has elaborated some Biblical reasons that a response like yours doesn’t mesh with your supposed faith.
Skye,
the article made me seek out your site just so I could leave a comment here to say: thank you SO much for writing this up. A very, very timely word.
God bless,
John
So Skye is a Pastor, therefore he is without any bias or bogus thinking like politicians and lawyers ? I didn’t buy that one.
“…reveal how fear is being used to foment anger and political zealotry.”
No, facts are being used to foment action to “resist the devil”. Just like lawyers and politicians you are spinning this for your own sermon. I’m sure you yourself are aware of how much Satan is involved in the Islamic system of religion. Is it okay for facts to wake up believers? Is it okay for believers to “understand the times” like the men of Issachar”. You like to label it “fear – the most un-Christian of motives”. Throw in some sarcasm and add a straw man of your own. Call it what you want, but your basis is shallow and dishonest.
So you go to Matthew 5, 6, 7. Where does the word fear or afraid occur here? I did a search in 5 translations and did not find it there. Is this how a Pastor looks at the Word? Oh, but Henri N. has a good quote with fear in it that shows how evil fear is. Is that your proof?
“As long as we primarily view the world is a dangerous place, we will never find the power to obey Jesus’ teachings.”
This is an interesting assertion I have never heard before. I have read in the Word many reasons why saints don’t obey Christ, but not this one. Maybe you have a proof text for this?
After many years of sitting in the pew listening to Pastors make their pronouncements about what they Know God’s people are thinking and feeling, fully psychoanalyzing from their elevated position yet relationally distant connection. They did not have a clue what I was thinking or feeling. It was all made up in their own self-assured mind. You’re doing the same old thing here.
Are you afraid that God’s kingdom will not happen at the proper time because the saints are afraid of Islam and are only interested in “self-preservation? Now there I go doing what you were doing.
Yes, believers can both resist the Devil with all his clever use of contradictory violence and claims of peace, and love their Islamic neighbors. Don’t be afraid. God can help his people do it even if Newt or a certain website most of us will never see are a little tweaked. Don’t project in onto all of us. Be not afraid. Oh, there I go again claiming I know what you feel and think.
Several people so far like what you said. It feels good to them, but they didn’t check it out to see if it’s true like “noble” believers should do. Acts 17:11
Good article thanks for this