Middle East Work Group

INTERFAITH RELATIONS – William G. Gepford, American-Arab Relations
Justice and America

We are indebted to Francis Scott Key for the words in the Star Spangled Banner, “Then Conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto, ’In God is our Trust.’”

We have been recently reminded that Key did not write, “for our cause it is just.” He wrote when our cause it is just.

It is human to be tempted to prevail over others. It is found in most every aspect of life, politics, corporations, and nationalistic endeavors at home and abroad, even in religion.

Ask any American Jewish person how they felt in the 1930s and pre-World War II 1940s. They most likely will say that “the Jew” represented a threat to those who felt that the America they knew was fast losing ground. Jews were supposed to not make their “difference” too obvious. I can remember the day when “Jew” was said as an insult.

A better understanding of the guarantee of religious freedom embedded in our Constitution emerged following WWII. Jews, then, began to sense greater opportunities for participation in the whole of American society.

A recent World Gallup Poll revealed a link between anti-Semitism and Islamophobia that carries with it similar prejudices toward Muslims as were experienced toward Jews of an earlier age.

This became most pronounced after the announcement was made last summer that an Islamic Community Center near the 9/11 site had received permission to build.

This is a new challenge for Christians which will test our belief in an America that promises equity for all. It took a long time to accept Jews as equal citizens in American society, and it probably will take an even longer time to accept Muslims.

Many theologians accept the revelatory beginnings of Islam, along with that of Judaism and Christianity. As these are played out there will be religious, cultural and political differences. There will also be similarities related to peace and justice. It is clear that this is God’s call to us in our time, to find those similarities. Failing to do so will most likely lead to greater hatred and violence.

In the time when the Star Spangled Banner was written, there were no “interfaith” or “inter-religious” attempts at understanding. The mindset was to conquer, with this one exception, to the author‘s credit, that our cause must be just, or as is often said, “is this the will of God?”

We need to examine the Abrahamic traditions, and recognize those passages that, in an earlier age, would lead to violence and hatred.

Jesus gave his life in promoting equity for all: the sick, the stranger, the immigrant, the foreigner, the widow, and women and children. He made no exceptions.

Ought we to do any less?