Muslim Condemnations of 9/11.

That site reports:

In the aftermath of the violence and horror of 9/11, criticisms were made that Muslim leaders and organizations were not outspoken enough in denouncing acts of terrorism. Muslims are constantly perplexed by this accusation, as we heard (and continue to hear) nothing but unequivocal and unified condemnations by the leaders of our community, both in the United States and worldwide. But for some reason, people are not listening.

For the record, the inhuman attacks of September 11 were condemned in the strongest terms by virtually all Islamic leaders, organizations, and countries. Thethe Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Judicial Council summarized that, “Islam rejects such acts, since it forbids killing of civilians even during times of war, especially if they are not part of the fighting. A religion that views people of the world in such a way cannot in any sense condone such criminal acts, which require that their perpetrators and those who support them are held accountable. As a human community we have to be vigilant and careful to preempt these evils.”

What follows that is a comprehensive list of such condemnations.

The search’s second link includes more of the kind of info that our “fair and balanced” news media rarely provide, such as the links to:

9/11 Anniversary Observances in U.S. Mosques

….and the names of the dozens of the shamefully disregarded:

*** Muslim Victims of September 11 Attack ***

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, these pages abound, for anyone who bothers to check, before parroting the shameful accusations of demagogues, and slandering the sincerity of an entire faith community.

The third Google link connects to hundreds more such pages, including U. of Michigan Professor Juan Cole’s criticism of New York Times columnist Tom Friedman’s recurring duplicity:

Muslims Condemn Terror Attacks

If that is not enough, still more strenuous Muslim rejection of terrorism, from the  BBC, International Herald Tribune, YouTube, ad infinitum, at:

Facts Not Fear: More Muslim Condemnation of Terrorism & Violence

Here at my InterFaith21 site, I too highlighted Juan Cole’s “Muslim Denunciations of al-Qaeda and Terrorism” and his spanking of the misdirection from Friedman:

Juan Cole: Following Quranic logic to its logical conclusion

If I seem inpatient with having to address info that our ratings-driven, so-called news media all too often bury — or worse, are complicit in distorting —  one reason is that as a professional journalist, I think our media should be called out for feeding our low inclinations to stereotype and scapegoat.

“Islam, by definition, rejects terrorism,” declared the headline of one of my columns years ago in The Palm Beach Post. Yet, when a violent extremist fringe element acts in obvious contradiction of the book of guidance for Muslims, the Quran, some folks, parroting the professional haters, cite that behavior to paint an entire billion-plus group of people. It’s like characterizing all Christians by the actions of the Bible-toting, cross-burning Ku Klux Klan.

Thus my focus on education. Getting quality information on board. Sharing resources such as the links above. One thing I love about us as Americans, and as human beings generally,  is that when we get good information, we usually get it right.

As always, I thank all my friends for your support, encouragement and patience with me, as I continue to learn and grow with all of you.

— C.B. Hanif

The beautiful smiles of Delray Interfaith Clergy Association members Donna Brueggmann of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boynton Beach, and the Rev. Joanna Gabriel, Unity Church of Delray Beach.

Earlier I shared some scenes from Delray Beach’s 9th Annual Mayors Interfaith Prayer Breakfast. Below is my essay on the event from the new edition of The Coastal Star, which hits the streets in print tomorrow. Next up I hope to share observations on the Dalai Lama’s visit to our area. For now:

Another sign of why Delray Beach is a two-time All America City — and a loud hint of what towns all over the planet should be doing — is the annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast.

Delray Beach Mayor Nelson S. "Woody" McDuffie with the Rev. Dr. Waymon T. Dixon of St. Paul A.M.E. Church, co-chair of the Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association.

The program, hosted by the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce at the Delray Beach Golf Club observed its ninth year Jan. 7. It also is the focus of my next column in The Coastal Star newspaper. For now here are some scenes:

Andrew Strickland of Calvary Chapel set the tone with "Beautiful" and other musical selections.

Mayor McDuffie with keynote speaker Trent Gamble, former Miami Dolphin Pro-Bowler, now a minister at Calvary Chapel, Ft. Lauderdale.

In offering "A Prayer for our Nation," Rev. Dixon requested he be joined at the poduim by fellow members of the Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association.

Delray Beach Commissioner Angeleta Gray (R) with former Commission Alberta McCarty.

Mayor McDuffie with Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association Co-Chair Rev. Kathleen Gannon (L) of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and Interfaith Clergy Association members Rabbi Howard Meridy, of Abbey Delray South Jewish Services, and Dr. Bassem Alhalabi, of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton.

Aneesha Hanif, president of the International League of Muslim Women's South Florida Chapter (and my better half), participating with the Delray Interfaith Clergy Association, with Peretheiura Baker.

The beautiful smiles of Delray Interfaith Clergy Association members Donna Brueggmann, of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boynton Beach, and the Rev. Joanna Gabriel, Unity Church of Delray Beach.

Commissioner Gray and Rev. Dixon.

And I get to pose for one.

Unite 21 interfaith congregations in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach to address homelessness among children and families, and you have Family Promise of South Palm Beach County.

Coming soon is a celebration of the nonprofit organization’s first year of advancing faith-based social service beyond proselytizing to the service that is the true hallmark of faith.

“What really intrigues me is the interfaith nature of Family Promise,” said board member Michael Diamant.

He’s also chairman of the “Bring the Children Home” benefit to aid local homeless families, Nov. 5 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. “I think the Family Promise focus on families with children, and the interfaith aspect, yields benefits to the community as a whole, far beyond addressing the problem of homelessness,” Diamant said.

That particular aspect — the distinctive response to temporary homelessness for families with children — began 21 years ago in New Jersey with founder Karen Olson. Family Promise now is in 39 states with 148 affiliates, and has another under development in North Palm Beach.

Olson saw the need to help the needy, and also a way to help congregations of all faiths keep their promises to help by networking their resources and contacts to assist with housing, jobs, counseling, training, etc.

A result here is 10 host congregations providing secure shelter and meals, for a week on a rotating basis, for up to four families going through a difficult time. Other congregations provide other support.

The program isn’t designed to deal with chronic homelessness, said Kokie Dinnan, executive director. “We are primarily focused on children that have become homeless, and their families that have sustained themselves in life for the most part, but been impacted by some sort of circumstance whether it be illness, or divorce, or loss of job.”

The average week begins on Sunday with volunteers packing and trucking the supporting equipment over to the next congregation.

During the week, families rise in the morning for the van ride to the remodeled former convent donated by St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach.

That Day Center is their home address, where they shower and do laundry, have storage for their basic needs, and a phone number. From there, children take buses or walk to school. Parents go to work, hunt for work or work with counselors.

In the evening, families return to the host congregation for dinner, for companionship, for family life.

Dinnan — a former county schoolteacher who is satisfying her love for interfaith, families and children, and for teaching — said to make a week happen takes anywhere from 50 to 70 volunteers at that congregation.

“Hosts use their church or synagogue, or the mosque. We don’t have any mosques, but we’d like to.” Depending on the facility, a congregation “may use sliders that divide the parish hall into four segments, so that each family has privacy for the week that they’re there. Some places use their Sunday school classroom.”

With referrals coming from any and all social service agencies as well as individuals, the hope is for more host congregations, Dinnan said.

“We have probably 50 families right now on our wait list, which is sad to say. Because there are a lot of families with mothers and children sleeping on the beaches and in parks.”

Fadina Middleton might have been among them. She arrived in West Palm Beach on May 11 from Delaware, with her 3-year-old son Jakob, and fumbling with her luggage, promptly lost all her money.

“The plan was to come here, make a new life,” said the Philadelphia native. “Find an apartment, pay for it six months in advance, and find a new life through acting and modeling. But it all crashed when I lost my money.”

Someone at the Salvation Army on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard told her about Family Promise. “I came here, interviewed and I was accepted.” Jakob now attends Youthland Academy in Delray while she looks for work.

While “angry at myself for putting myself in this situation,” she said, “I just have to take the way it is, my life is, and make it better. I still want that luxury house and car and nice job. I just have to work at it. I’ve been on so many job interviews — Miami, Miami Beach, Boca, Deerfield, I don’t care where’s it at. I just have to try extra hard.”

And when she gets there, does she see herself giving back? “I know I will. I asked Miss Kokie’s permission when I ever appear in a magazine can I mention Family Promise, do I have permission to do so? I’m trying every magazine they have here in Florida to see if I can just be in it or on the cover and talk about Family Promise.”

Middleton may get to pose with Family Promise founder Olson, who will be here Nov. 5 for the affiliate’s first anniversary.

“We think it is time for a celebration,” said event chairman Diamant, “because we’ve been fortunate enough to help a number of families in this relatively short time, graduating several families to where they’ve been able to go out and get back on their feet, have some type of housing, have a job, have a plan to get back on a better financial foundation.”

“We really want to show that as a local community this is an issue we feel strongly about, passionately about, and that we believe we can make some steps to impact,” he said. “It is a celebration of what we’ve been able to do in a year, and a call to action, and hopefully it will extend to other people.”

The call to action “is to raise awareness, get people to donate time and money, and make access to their contacts. We want people to know that this is a grassroots local response to an increasing problem in Palm Beach County, one of the most wealthy counties in the nation, yet there is no official county-based homeless shelter.”

Having united congregations of varied faiths to walk their talk, Family Promise already has demonstrated how the whole can be larger than the sum of its parts.

One wonderful thing about being in their meetings, said Diamant, “is truly everybody believes that they are doing God’s work regardless of their denomination.

“I think doing that not only allows us to reach a number of congregations,” he said, “but it helps interfaith understanding across the board, and is an important byproduct of this.”

If You Go

Bring the Children Home

What it’s about: Benefit to aid local homeless families. Family Promise’s mission states a fundamental belief that every child has a right to have a safe and secure home.

When: Thursday, Nov. 5, 6 to 8 p.m.

Where: Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton

Cost: Admission is $25 for the benefit that will feature music by students of the Pine Crest School, silent auction, raffle, food and beverages. Guests include Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons, and Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel. Contact: 561-265-3370, Ext. 103 or www.FamilyPromiseSPBC.org.

(This item first appeared in The Coastal Star with the tagline: C.B. Hanif is a writer, editor and media and inter-religious affairs consultant. He visits or speaks at synagogues, churches and mosques, seeking folks who are making the Golden Rule real, not just an ideal. On the Web at www.interfaith21.com.)

(Another original from I21 in The Coastal Star.)

How prayer would manifest in a municipal setting was my question when I learned that Delray Beach would host a National Day of Prayer observance in front of City Hall.

The event, celebrated nationwide on the first Thursday each May, was established by Congress to encourage Americans to pray for our nation, its people and its leaders.

Delray’s announcement of two “interdenominational” public prayer events resonated with me.

For the first, citizens gathered at City Hall at noon on a chamber of commerce day as they have for more than a decade.

And that’s the problem, said Geoff Kashdan. I had just finished telling two city commissioners of my appreciation for the city’s support of the event when he strolled up to greet me. The self-described “progressive activist” stressed that he was not speaking on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, or the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, for which he has advocated in the past.

But he said there’s a concern “when public property such as city hall is used. Especially if it’s used by one religion, which gives the appearance of municipal or governmental sponsorship of that one religion. So I’m just here to watch, learn, listen and monitor.”

I understand that slippery slope, and the influences that want to define America as a Christian nation. It is that, of course. But also, as our praying president has said, a nation of many faiths and home to people of no particular faith.

Two later events I attended better lived up to the interdenominational billing.

I left a joyous musical prayer circle, on Lake Worth’s beach, to head to Delray’s Duncan Conference Center for “Many Paths — One God: Celebrating our Unity in Diversity.”

Smiles and hugs were even more in abundance at that gathering, sponsored by the Delray Beach Interfaith Clergy Association. The warmth was even more encouraging given the diversity: prayers in the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, African-American, Christian Science, Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu and other traditions. Benedictions in English, Hebrew, Arabic, Creole and Spanish.

Throughout the day, one could imagine scoffing from the haters of religion, and haters in the name of religion. They should talk to Addie Lee Hudson.

“It brings us closer together as a people,” the retired educator told me after she had delivered the “Prayer For Our Schools” at City Hall. “And it reaffirms our belief that there is a God. Not a God for one group of people, but a God for all of us.”

Her focus on unity underscores why those who trust in prayer should trust that we can’t pray enough.

C.B. Hanif, former news ombudsman and editorial columnist for The Palm Beach Post, is a freelance writer, editor, media and interreligious affairs consultant. His blog, InterFaith21.com debuts soon. Look for more insights as he visits or speaks at synagogues, churches and mosques from here to infinity, connecting with folks who are making the Golden Rule real, not just an ideal. C.B. can be reached at cbhanif@gmail.com