October
2001
A
Time for Unity
Joint Message from Roman Catholics and
Muslims
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Catholics and Muslims meet regularly as friends and
religious partners in dialogue and engage together in many community projects.
We are fully committed to one another as friends, believers, and citizens
of this great land. We abhor all terrorist acts and hate crimes and implore
all American citizens to refrain from sinking to the mentality and immorality
of the perpetrators of the crimes on September 11th.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the American Muslim Council,
the Islamic Circle of North America, the Islamic Society of North
America, the Muslim American Society and numerous Islamic centers
and councils
have co-sponsored dialogues on religious themes and we commit ourselves
to the many noble goals of interreligious cooperation. We believe
that the one God calls us to be peoples of peace. Nothing in our
Holy Scriptures,
nothing in our understanding of God’s revelation, nothing that
is Christian or Islamic justifies the terrorist acts and disruption
of millions
of lives which we have witnessed. Together we condemn those actions
as evil and diametrically opposed to true religion.
We urge all American citizens to unify during this national tragedy and
encourage cooperation among all ethnic, cultural, racial, and religious
groups constituting the mosaic of our society. We appeal to American citizens
to come to the assistance of the countless victims of the attacks on September
11th and the victims of any crimes of hate in the aftermath of those awful
events. We join in supporting our government in the pursuit of those who
were responsible for these terrorist acts, always mindful of the moral
imperative to act with restraint and respect for civilian lives. We appeal
to law enforcement agencies and the general public to assist those who
may be targets of hate crimes. We entreat Catholics and Muslims to join
together and with all people of good will in services of prayer and community
programs promoting peace.
Rev. Tod D. Brown, Bishop of Orange; Chairman, Bishops’ Committee
for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, Director, Islamic Society of Orange County,
Islamic Society of North America
Aly R. Abuzaakouk, Executive Director, American Muslim Council
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, Secretary General, Islamic Society of North
America
Naeem Baig, Secretary General, Islamic Circle of North America
Imam W. D. Mohammed, Muslim American Society
