PROVIDENCE — Adam Kattan lowered his head as he recalled the pain of being the target of verbal assaults and sometimes labeled as a “terrorist” by classmates as the country slowly recovered from the events of 9/11, nine years ago.
The 19-year-old Cranston resident and college student remembered sitting in a middle school classroom where the teacher mocked the Qur’an, the holy book of the Islam religion. While the soft-spoken young man wanted to remind the educator that there were Muslim students sitting in the class, he said he feared retaliation and being ostracized by his peers.
Father Kiley's full statement may be read below
Kattan joined members of Rhode Island’s Muslim community, the state’s church leaders and concerned citizens last Friday at a press conference held at the Roger Williams statue in Prospect Park to protest the scheduled burning of the Qur’an on Saturday by Florida minister Rev. Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla.
The site for the conference was chosen because Williams, a Protestant theologian and founder of the Rhode Island colony, was the first American proponent of religious freedom.
Rev. Jones, an outspoken anti-Islam pastor and the author of the book titled “Islam is of the Devil,” planned to burn the holy books in response to plans for a mosque to be erected near ground zero in New York City, the site of the fallen World Trade Center Towers.
The planned desecration of the Islamic holy text was called off following emotional protests made by international political, military and religious leaders to stop the incineration. While American military leaders feared retribution toward troops serving overseas, protests in Afghanistan and India were marred by violence that led to several deaths.
Speakers at the press conference denounced the planned Qur’an burning and honored the memory of the 2,819 people who lost their lives as a result of 9/11.
“For me the issue before us is not the precious constitutional right of self-expression and the exercise of one’s choice of religion—rather it is the act of a faith leader of one faith tradition doing violence to the sacred text of another tradition,” said Rev. Dr. Donald Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches. “… The teachings of Pastor Terry Jones of Dove Outreach Ministries are a perversion of the Christian Gospel. To those who may not be familiar with the Christian faith, please hear these words: The actions of one man with a miniscule following do not speak for the Church of Jesus Christ.”
Rev. Dr. Anderson called on people of all faith traditions to stand together in solidarity against the proposed “act of violence” and to support actions and attitudes that will promote peace and understanding.
Father John A. Kiley, diocesan Ecumenical Officer and pastor of St. Francis Church, Warwick, reminded those gathered that the meeting of Christianity and Islam in eleventh-century Spain was initially not so much confrontational as it was beneficial.
“Today the Western world is again encountering the culture of Islam,” he continued, asking if the two civilizations will learn from each other or ignore the opportunity for growth and development.
“Certainly Islam can remind the secularized West about the importance of religious practice in daily life and the West can certainly encourage the Islamic world to ponder deeply its own Cairo Declaration on Human Rights. … Today, with our eager and willing cooperation, the one God of Abraham whom Christians, Jews and Muslims adore, can open the minds and hearts of all believers to the fullness of transcendent truth found in God and reflected in his world.”
Imam Farad Ansari of the Muslim American Adwa Center of Rhode Island noted that the Qur’an instructs Muslims to be a “people for justice and fair dealings” and that they are not only to seek peace for themselves, but for the entire world.
“The burning of the Qur’an is a gross injustice which is determined to undermine the pure teachings of the Qur’an and Islam,” the imam emphasized. “It is a grievous, misguided and unpardonable error in judgment causing public alarm and outrage. As a people of faith it is our hope and prayer that we remain connected by the principles of our faith and not be persuaded by the call to violence, religious hatred and bigotry.”
Dottie O’Connor, a member of St. Bernard Church, Wickford, said she attended the press conference to show support for Rhode Island’s Muslim community, which Imam Ansari estimates has 3,000 members.
“I’m here because this is the first state that had religious freedom,” she said. “It makes no difference what religion you are. We are all praising God in our own way. It (Qur’an burning) is scandalous and frightening in this day and age.”
Fellow St. Bernard parishioner Shirley Marsland said she was concerned for Rev. Jones’ congregation as well as Muslims throughout the world.
“The Muslims are a good, kind people,” she observed.
FATHER KILEY'S FULL STATEMENT AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
(PROVIDENCE, R.I.)-Rev. John A Kiley, pastor of St. Francis parish in Warwick and Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence will participate in a press conference tomorrow with other local faith leaders to oppose the planned burning of the Quran by the Dove World Outreach Center based in Gainsville, Florida. Father Kiley’s statement follows:
“Our first thought here today is to pray for those who died in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington on September 11, 2001. We pray that God will look with tender compassion on those who perished in these disasters and we pray that God will look with his unfathomable mercy on those who perpetrated these tragedies. We pray as well for those who survived the horrors of nine/eleven and now mourn for their deceased spouses, parents, sons, daughters and friends. We pray as well for those from Islamic traditions or Christian communities who resort to bloodshed or book burning to further their causes. May God’s grace open their minds to his truth and heal their hearts with his love. And I speak for Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin when I say that we are very grateful for the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Muslim community in Rhode Island as well as other ecumenical and interfaith denominations. We pray that these relationships will continue to strengthen and grow.
Nine hundred years ago the Christian West decided that the last traces of Islamic influence in Europe should be expelled from southern Spain. Christian armies and missionaries descended on Granada and Cordoba and Seville expecting to drive the Islamic residents back into North Africa whence they came. Yet when these northern Christians arrived in southern Spain they discovered Moslems and Jews and Christians from the West and from Byzantium living in a fairly sophisticated Moorish society. Much to the astonishment of the West, the Islamic world had copied and commented on all the great manuscripts of the ancient schools. Plato and Socrates and Ptolemy and especially Aristotle were there on their library shelves. The Western world in turn translated these ancient texts from Greek and Arabic into Latin and a whole new viewpoint became available to the medieval world and to every generation since then. In particular, Aristotle’s appreciation of the material world was in great contrast to the old Platonic, spiritualized view of creation that had held sway since the time of St. Augustine. Aristotle’s profound insights into the natural universe, preserved through Islamic efforts, led eventually to the material comforts and technological advances that the 21st century enjoys today. The meeting of Christianity and Islam in eleventh century Spain was, at first, not so much confrontational as it was beneficial. The West was deeply enriched by its contact with the Moslem world.
Today the Western world is again encountering the culture of Islam. Will this latest encounter be confrontational or beneficial? Will the West learn from the East and the East from the West? Or will both East and West ignore this opportunity for growth and development? Certainly Islam can remind the secularized West about the importance of religious practice in daily life. And the West can certainly encourage the Islamic world to ponder deeply its own Cairo Declaration on Human Rights. The Judaeo-Christian world and the Islamic world have enriched one another in the past – and, sadly, these two civilizations have harmed one another in the past as well. Today, with our willing and eager cooperation, the One God of Abraham whom Christians, Jews and Moslems adore can open the minds and hearts of all believers to the fullness of Transcendent Truth found in God and reflected in His world.”
