Forum: Our Jewish, Muslim neighbors need us to stand with them
Published 1:30 am Saturday, December 23, 2023
By Terry Kyllo and Carol Jensen / Herald Forum
Americans value freedom of religion. We aspire to create a nation where people are free to pray or not pray as they choose.
This right was based on Thomas Jefferson’s Statute of the Freedom of Religion, meant to protect Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, and anyone’s individual beliefs. This right is both a gift and a responsibility for Americans. But the right to freedom of religion only becomes real when people can practice their beliefs in safety.
Since October, Muslims and Jews have each experienced more than 2,000 hate incidents in the United States. Each community has had to increase its security measures. Individuals in each community report feeling less safe. We have seen bomb threats, credible threats of violence, and harassment toward both groups. This violence not only impacts our Jewish and Muslim neighbors. It makes all of us less safe. It puts more pressure on law enforcement. It diminishes our trust in each other. It teaches us to withdraw from public life.
These hate incidents are based on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, the dehumanization of our Jewish and Muslim neighbors. Each leads people to believe that Muslims and Jews are a threat to others. Each leads people to wrongly blame all Muslims and Jews for the actions of people in the Middle East. Millenia of dehumanization and slander are being leveraged by some public leaders, politicians and hate groups to build their power.
Dehumanization leads to an increase in violence and strengthens a dynamic that threatens to tear our society apart. Influenced by this slander, some people begin to believe that violence against them is morally justified. A smaller set of people then engage in acts of violence.
What can we do? History tells us that when just a few of us in the majority stand in solidarity with those being threatened, the chance of violence is significantly reduced. Ervin Staub discovered that 10 percent of the population can make the crucial difference. We are calling on leaders in every wisdom tradition, in every organization and public office to take a public stand with our Jewish and Muslim neighbors. You can find examples of what to do here: tinyurl.com/PathsAction. The well-being of these neighbors, the peace of our communities, and the functioning of our democracy are at stake.
We long for the day when America will more deeply embody the right to freedom of religion or no religion. The First Amendment is a gift. It is our responsibility to ensure that everyone can enjoy it.
History has shown what happens when good people stand by passively as a few commit violence and spread fear. But if we all do our part, we can contribute to a nation that is strong because its citizens protect each other’s basic human rights. When we work to support freedom of religion for every group, we are engaging in the patriotic work of creating a more perfect union.
The Rev. Terry Kyllo is executive director for Paths to Understanding, based in Lynnwood. The Rev. Carol Jensen is board chair for Faith Action Network, based in Seattle.
