Reflections on 9/11
On the first anniversary at a Church
Bismillah hirRahman nirRahim.
With the name of God, Most-Gracious, Most-Merciful.
Salam. Peace.
We are gathered here to remember, to mourn, to reflect.
We are here to share the sorrow.
And we are here to share in the hopes for the future.
We hope because we know of God’s Grace, and we know that
with God anything is possible, and we expect good from God.
So out of the ashes of the twin towers, the hope for the
future shines brightly.
Remember the story of Joseph, whose brothers were jealous of
him.
Intending evil for him, they cast him in a well, and he was
sold as a slave.
God raised Joseph from being a slave to a high position of power in Egypt.
His brothers came to Egypt seeking food during a great
famine, and he saved them and his parents.
As Joseph said to his brothers:
Genesis 50
19
But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am
I in the place of God?
20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good
to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Out of the great harm and the
destruction of 9-11, we believe, trusting in God’s Grace, that God will
accomplish from it a much greater good.
And that is our hope for the
future.
The world has become a very small place, we are no longer
isolated from what goes in what used to be remote regions of the world.
We can see within seconds what happened on the other side of
the world, and we can be affected by what happens on the other side of the
world.
The need is for
peace, not just peace in one nation, but peace in all the nations of the world,
and especially peace between the followers of different religions.
Without knowing
people of other nations or religions, without understanding their
beliefs and values, we assume the worst.
It happens rarely that the worst turns out to be true. However,
oft times when we take the trouble to know people, we find that they are
very similar to us, they share the same values and the same reverence for the
Divine. We would do ourselves and
others a great injustice by assuming the worst, by not even attempting to know
other nations and religions. Only after
we know them and understand them, can we dispel mistrust and begin to develop
tolerance and work together towards peace.
What does Islam say about tolerance, about other religions?
The matter of belief is between a soul and its Creator. God will judge us how we exercised our freewill, each in our individual situation.
We may not compel anyone to follow a particular religion, as
God commands us in the Quran:
256. Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever
rejects evil and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold
that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows
all things.
Please understand,
please be assured, that Jews and Christians are not considered “infidels” but
are considered “People of the Book”.
The Book refers to God’s message and guidance to mankind. The People of the Book are those who were given the Scriptures and sent Prophets from God.
The Jews and Christians are People of the Book, and are treated very differently from those who do not belive in God, or those who associate others in the Glory, Majesty and Power of God.
God reassures believers in the Quran:
62. Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who
follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever
believes in the One God and the Last day and works righteousness, shall have
their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
We believe that God is the one who sent Moses with the Torah, and Jesus with the Gospel, revelations of the same Book, and He sent Muhammad with the Quran. God reminds the Muslims:
46. And dispute you not with the People of the Book
except with means better (than mere disputation) unless it be with those of
them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say "We believe in the Revelation
which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our God and your
God is one; and it is to Him we are in submission (in Islam)."
God could have made all religions one religion, but His plan
is to leave them separate for a while.
God tells us:
48.
To you We sent the Scripture in truth confirming the
scripture that came before it and guarding it in safety; so judge between them
by what Allah hath revealed and follow not their vain desires diverging from
the truth that hath come to thee. To
each among you have We prescribed a Law and an Open Way. If Allah had so willed He would have made
you a single people but (His plan is) to test you in what He has given you: so
strive as in a race in all virtues. The
goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the
matters in which you dispute.
God encourages Jews, Christians and Muslims to compete. To compete not in the theater of war, but to
compete in the doing of good. To
compete not for the sake of material things, but to compete for the sake of
God, for the love of God.
One day this competition will end. It will end with the Second Coming of Jesus. We believe that when Jesus comes again, all
true believers in God, be they Jews, Christians or Muslims, all will unite and follow him as one people. And peace and justice will prevail in all
the nations of the world.
And that is one of our hopes for the future.
I conclude with prayers for the victims and prayers for the
future.
We mourn the victims and the heroes of Sept 11.
Our Lord God, reward them for the calamity that they
suffered.
Our Lord God, give their families the patience to bear their
loss, and may it be a means for them to draw closer to You. And may they find peace and love in Your
presence.
There were other victims of this tragedy. The first victims of 9-11 died over twenty years
ago in a land far away, in Afghanistan.
The Russians inflicted many a small-scale 9-11 on the
innocent people of Afghanistan, levelling villages with bombs and missiles,
killing thousands of women and children.
No mourners grieved
for them, no one called out their names in remembrance, no eyes shed tears for them.
The Russians were finally driven out with the help of
America. And the country then descended
into a brutal civil war with lawless warlords killing thousands.
This was the breeding ground for the terrorism that affected
us on 9-11.
There is still not peace in that country, and we know with
sadness in our hearts that the last victim of 9-11 has not yet died there.
Our Lord God, we
pray to You, bring peace and security to the people of Afghanistan.
The conditions in Afghanistan remind us of the things we
Americans take for granted, the things we should be grateful to God for, here
in America.
Our Lord God, we are grateful to You that we do not go to
sleep hungry, that we have a roof over our heads.
We are grateful to You that widows in this country do not
have to beg in the street for food for their children.
We are grateful to You that we live in peace and
safety. We are grateful to You for our
freedom and liberty.
Our Lord God, we thank you for Your Mercy and Grace upon us.
Our Lord God, we depend on You and turn to You with our
hopes and prayers for the future.
Our Lord God, we pray to You to that though some people
perpetrated great evil, that You will accomplish from it a much greater good
for all the nations of the world, even as You did with Joseph and his brothers.
Our Lord God, we pray to You to guide the leaders of the
nations of the world. Give them the
courage to stand up against evil. Give
them courage to stand up for justice.
Give them the wisdom to know right from wrong.
Our Lord God, we pray for ourselves and for all people that
you guide the people of all the nations of the world to You by Your Grace, and
increase in their hearts the love of You and the fear of You, that they may all
walk on Your straight path.
And let there prevail justice and peace for all the people
and nations of the world.