Today we are all full of grief as yet another house of worship was targeted by a person infected with white supremacy. Today we stand in solidarity with the Muslims of Christ Church, New Zealand.
Today we stand in solidarity with Muslims all over the world – hate crimes are not just perpetrated against their immediate victims, but against a whole category of people. Hate crimes are committed to make the whole group feel vulnerable.
We know that by far the largest cause of ideologically motivated crimes in the United States white supremacy/white nationalism. Yet, when we see coverage of these crimes the religion and even the ideology of the perpetrators are less likely to be a focus of the coverage than if they were perceived to be Muslim. You can read more about that at the website below.
Just as we all stood in solidarity with our beloved Jewish neighbors after the horrific acts at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, so now we must stand with our Muslim neighbors.
Why?
A central vision of the Abrahamic tradition is that all human beings are created in the image of God. No cultural difference, difference of appearance, or even religious affiliation changes this fact: Human beings are a part of one human family because we share a Divine Parent. This central vision led many to see others as human, to recognize that we are a part of each other.
Today, there are many forces leading us to be dis-membered from one another. However powerful these forces are, we do not have to live this way.
I believe that God is re-membering us as human beings. One way we can participate in this remembering is to stand with each other in moments like this, to be in community with those in other traditions on a regular basis, and to build stronger communities together.
For those of us who are Christian, standing with our Muslim neighbor is not “just being nice.” It is being faithful to the central vision of the Abrahamic Tradition. Jesus risked and gave his life because he was faithful to this vision.
Recognizing our neighbors as human beings, made in the image of God, is key to our faithfulness to Jesus.
Today we grieve with our Muslim family. Tomorrow, let’s take part in God’s re-membering us as neighbors and find the healing and community God intended when God made us all.