On Celebrating the Construction of New Mosques. A Baptist Response.

I watched with dismay and sadness a recent edition of Anderson Cooper's CNN news show as Rev. Flip Benham, of "Operation Save America," spoke out against the building of a mosque in New York's "ground zero" area. But the Right Rev. (better named, Rev. Wrong), hardly stopped there. His opinion is that no mosques should be built -- anywhere. "Islam is a lie born from the pit of hell." (I may not have that quotation exactly right, but this is close to his exact words.)

I am dismayed that this kind of biggotry exists, and though I support our freedom of speech, sad that such a misguided viewpoint is allowed a nation-wide viewing.

I happened to be listening to this with some family members, one of whom opined that Bentham's words seemed on target. Bentham had said that though not all Muslims are terrorists, all terrorists are Muslim. This family member couldn't separate the heinous acts of a handful of misguided fanatics from the religion which birthed their own prejudices and hatreds. And though it made for a slightly tense family moment, I could not not respond.

You simply cannot say this. It is NOT true that Islam is a religion of evil or violence. That some have perverted it as such is undeniable. So have some Jews and Hindus and Buddhists and Christians made their religion the basis for God's supposed sanction of their own violence. And I asked if this family member knew any Muslims. He did not. And I told him that he needed to meet the handful of active, participating, faithful Muslims that I work with on a regular basis, through Mecklenburg Ministries, and hear their stories... see their lives... They are living testimonies to the fact that of the world's 1 billion Muslims, the vast majority are God-fearing, peace-loving, justice-oriented members of a religion whose name, Islam, is derived from the Arabic word for "peace."

Fundamentalism is our enemy. Whether Islamic or Christian. And education -- and relationships -- are the keys to moving our world forward.

Skip Bentham is wrong. And we need to say it boldly.

I'm grateful to my Muslim friends whom I consider partners in faith, brothers and sisters on the journey of finding and knowing God. Through our distinctive understandings of our approach to God, there is, yet, more that draws us together than divides us.

To that common end, we should celebrate the construction of houses of worship around this great nation -- regardless their shape. (I understand that there are political issues at hand, with the proposed NY mosque. I am not addressing these issues, but the larger religious and philosophical framework of this conversation.) And Baptists should lead the way in this -- as historic supporters of the freedom of religion.

May it be so.