Since I began this work more than forty years ago, I have assiduously avoided any conversation about God or any stand in relationship to my feelings in that regard. My belief was that each person has their own beliefs and that was all there was to it. All of that notwithstanding, I have approached this work as if God/Allah/Buddha had said this is what I want you to do. The events of this past week have caused me to completely reverse this position and it is my intention that what I am about to say will be a contribution and not more fuel for the fire.

In case you didn’t see the controversy, it has two issues that are actually one in relationship to bigotry and religious prejudice, the building of an Islamic Mosque anywhere near ground zero at the site of the former World Trade Center and the burning of Qurans (the holy book of the Islamic religion) that was called for by a minister in Florida. Today (Friday, September 10, 2011, one day before the anniversary of the attack on The World Trade Center) the burning of books was called off temporarily. Unfortunately, that decision and the possible concessions relative to the building of an Islamic building in that area of New York simply serve to cover over the essence of the problems that continue to keep us from bringing peace to this planet and ending the horror of hunger, starvation and homelessness.

As Reported in The Washington Post, here is the story:

The Christian minister of a small church in Florida canceled on Thursday his plan to burn copies of the Quran that had been scheduled for Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The planned protest had sparked angry demonstrations by Muslims around the world.

The Reverend Terry Jones announced his change of heart at a news conference late Thursday in front of his church in Gainesville, Florida.

Jones said he called off the Quran burning protest because he had secured an agreement with Muslim leaders in New York City to move the location of a controversial planned Islamic center and mosque away from the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks known as Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.

“The American people do not want the mosque there and, of course, Muslims do not want us to burn the Quran,” said Terry Jones. “The imam has agreed to move the mosque. We have agreed to cancel our event on Saturday. And on Saturday, I will be flying up there to meet with him.”

But the New York imam behind the Islamic center project issued a written statement saying there was no deal to move the Islamic center and mosque slated to be built two blocks away from Ground Zero.

The statement from Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf denied that any talks had taken place with Jones and said no agreement had been reached.

Reverend Jones’ plans to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday had drawn worldwide condemnation. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and numerous religious leaders around the country spoke out against the planned protest and urged the previously obscure Florida minister to abandon the idea.

Jones spoke to Defense Secretary Robert Gates shortly before his news conference. Pentagon officials say Gates urged the minister not to go ahead with his protest on Saturday, arguing that it would put the lives of U.S. soldiers serving abroad at risk.

Jones told reporters he has been praying on the issue.

“I get a little bit emotional,” he said. “This has been, of course, for us a very, very difficult, trying time. We have been in very much thought and prayer over this whole period. A lot of times we were asked, what would it take to call this thing off.

Jones said an idea came to him while praying that he would call off the planned burning of the Quran, if Muslim leaders in New York City would agree to move the site of Islamic center away from site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in lower Manhattan.

“The American people, as a whole, do not want the mosque at the Ground Zero location,” said Jones. “That if they were willing to either cancel the mosque at the Ground Zero location or if they were willing to move that location, willing to move it away from that location, we would consider that a sign from God. I will be flying up there on Saturday to meet with the imam at the Ground Zero mosque. He has agreed to move the location.”

Jones appeared at the news conference with a local imam, Imam Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida. Imam Musri told CNN that he was acting as an intermediary between the Christian minister and Muslim leaders in New York, and that he would travel with Jones to New York City on Saturday. But Musri also said no deal had been reached to move the Islamic center, contrary to the claim by Reverend Jones.

“Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Let me see if I can define evil in a way that makes sense. In our definition of evil resides the potential solution to a myriad of problems in our society and around the world. In 1960 I became aware of the evil known as segregation, the intentional separation of whites from all other races based on the notion that they are better than others and that the others can do without basic access to schooling, accommodations in public places and the owning of property. In 1964 when I experienced segregated schools, eating establishments, hotels and neighborhoods, I felt the hate and isolation that were everywhere. On our way to participate in an exchange program with an all black independent school in Sedalia, NC, Albert Boothby, my history teacher, mentor and organizer of this exchange for six weeks, would not stop at any restaurant where all people were not welcome. There were long stretches of Route 1, now Interstate 95, along the eastern seaboard where people of color were not allowed. At one point during the following summer, members of the KKK ran Mrs. Boothby’s car off the road. My response was to say, “I hate bigots!” To which Albert Boothby responded, “That would make you the problem. Until you learn to love the person and hate the action, nothing will change.”

“Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

Calling for the burning of a person’s spiritual text is an evil act.

Threatening Alice Boothby’s life was an evil act.

The rape of a human being is an evil act.

Evil is the behavior of profoundly unwell individuals.

Evil is any act of violence or damage done by an unwell human being to another.

Well people don’t damage others.

Does your church or religious organization believe it has the only truth?

“If we think we monopolize the truth and we still organize a dialogue, it is not authentic.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

Having read the majority of the source documents pertaining to the major religions of the world, I find they boil down to one core theme, “Learn to love one and other as you are loved by God, god, Allah, the Buddha, etc., etc., etc.”

They all contain things that are inappropriate.

Most were written by men and are therefore sexist. Most claim a certain about of “rightness,” prompted, in my experience, by fear of not knowing and the unknown. It is easier to act as if I have all the answers than to seem a person without answers. Many of them have been written to support the existence of an institution, not the experience of God/Allah/Buddha.

In my experience religions have absolutely nothing to do with the existence and/or experience of God/Allah/Buddha and yet we speak about them as if they were the synonymous.

To denigrate the beliefs of another person is an act of evil.

“Many who have neither the way nor the life try to impose on others what they believe to be the way.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

The Buddha in particular would be horrified to know that there are hundreds of Buddhist sects (divisions that have different beliefs). He said don’t turn loving-kindness into a belief system.

What is your church/mosque doing to come to understand the teaching of others?

What are we doing to learn to love each other better?

If we are not supposed to build a mosque in the shadow of the World Trade Center building site, we better not be building a church, a synagogue or a Quaker reading room either. For that matter, maybe we ought to tear down all the religious buildings!

“If they really believe that there are valuable elements in each other’s tradition and that they can learn from one another, they will also rediscover many valuable aspects of their own tradition through such an encounter. Peace will be a beautiful flower blooming on this field of practice.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

Wanting to kill people to solve problems is evil.

I doubt that God/Allah/Buddha is on anyone’s side in a “war.”

In order not to offend anyone, we remove religion from the classroom.

How about putting all religions back in every school in every country?

The only reason a person would be worried about that is that someone might be influenced to think differently.

What would happen if thinking, waking up, became the goal as opposed to indoctrination?

What might happen if we stopped speaking ill of people and evaluated ideas?

In order to begin with a clean slate, we might have to clean up the past.

What would happen if we owned that we stole this country from Native Americans and have broken every treaty we ever made with them because we were afraid and damaged?

What would happen if we acknowledged the damage done by enslaving people and recognize we did it out of fear?

What would happen if we stopped talking about retribution?

What you and I do today will tell the tale.

Are we willing, today, to never say another nasty, backbiting, negative word about anyone?

Are we willing to recognize that evil arises out of fear and insecurity?

Are we willing to show loving-kindness toward all people?

“Nonviolence does not mean non-action. Nonviolence means we act with love and compassion.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

God/Allah/Buddha gave us the tools.

We are capable of loving-kindness.

Are we willing to transcend our fears and insecurities and love anyway?

Tony DeMello said that the three hardest things to do in the world are:

To exchange love for hate.

To include the excluded.

To admit you are wrong.

As we acknowledge that we can do these things, challenging as they may be, we can get about the healing of all people.

Well people do not damage others.

God is on the side of the damaged.

And there are a few things yet to do.

“There are so many young people who are homeless. They may have a building to live in, but they are homeless in their hearts. That is why the most important practice of our time is to give each person a home. Be a home for them. Each of us has to serve as the home for others. When we look at something or someone, be it a person, a tree, or anything, look at it in such a way that we touch them as part of our home.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh

Willing to give this to your friends?
(Even if it means the possibility of being considered a fool?)

To the elders of your “church,” whatever it may be?
(Even if it may be considered blasphemy?)

To your partners or co-workers in business?
(Even if it may mean they think you are less than competent?)

To your family?
(Even if they may think you have lost your mind?)

If you have never seen “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” now might be the time.

And perhaps we should build something different at the site of the World Trade Center.

Perhaps we should build a World Peace Began Here Center on the site of The World Trade Center where:

We would honor all religions willing not to do damage to others.

We would bring forth and acknowledge all the damages done by countries, religions and individuals in the name of “rightness.”

We would bring forth and find solutions to the damages still being done to human beings by the fears and insecurities of humankind.

People could commit their lives to a planet at peace.

With all my love and every blessing! Namaste!

(I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth and of peace. And when you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.)

Bill