Decade After 9/11 - Religion

As an American, and as a Muslim, I have found an antidote in strategies and programs that presents an alternative to vilification, a third way toward peace-building and reconciliation.
We need not look far to find the Ravanas of our time... They are us -- at our weakest, basest, and grossest; people of faith, in our darkest moments of hypocrisy.
Having observed the 9/11 anniversary this week, it's worthwhile to pause and recall the multiple significances of September 11th, the birthdays and anniversaries that remind us of life and hope amidst tragedy.
We have made it through the commemorations of the last 10 years and perhaps we can now say that we will never forget. But first, a traffic light to guide us as we become a 9/12 community.
Ever since September 11, I've been asking myself: How does a vision of Christ who has embraced all, including Muslims, influence the way I relate to other people today?
I now look back to that time and that mentality and realize that, while evil most certainly exists, it takes on its greatest form when we so cavalierly ascribe it to those we perceive as different from us.
It is my hope that through this blessing practice we can remind ourselves that this is what it feels like to love. This is what it feels like to know peace.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, Muslim Americans have spent good amount of our time and resources praying, preaching and marching for peace. Still, Anxiety about Muslim Americans is at an all-time high.
St. Nicholas Church was founded by Greek immigrants in 1916 and served generations of families and their spiritual needs. Eighty-five years after its founding, the church was destroyed by the falling Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
The Psalms are poems -- and indeed they are exquisite -- but I'm sorry the President wasn't able to keep God out of it. The names of the 3,000 dead would have been sermon and poem enough.