This talk by Peace Catalyst Founder Jim Mullins was given at the Lumen 9.11 event, a discussion on faith, culture, and building bridges of peace. 

The Bush Administration responded to 9/11 with “the war on terror.” Anders Breivik committed his crimes on 22 July 2011 because he felt that Europe as a whole, and Norway in particular, had been naive in their response to Islam. Have we learned anything from what has happened in the last ten years about the way we think about Islam and relate to Muslims, and can we articulate a considered, long-term response to these events? T

A reader of my previous blog, “Fear, Inc.,” asked a very reasonable question. He or she had wondered how accurate my placing Robert Spencer among the “purveyors of hate and misinformation” actually was. I like this. I know everyone on the PCI team wants open and transparent communication. Indeed, let’s urge one another to speak the truth and to speak it in love, as Paul challenged the Ephesian church.

I had the privilege of attending the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. in 2005, where King Abdullah of Jordan forcefully spoke out against terrorism. The media complains that Muslims don’t speak out against terrorism, but here it was. Loud and clear.

I wrote an article for Christianity Today recently titled, Have Muslim-Christian Relations Improved Since 9/11? As I reflected on the topic and did some research, I was surprised at how many evangelical organizations and individuals are engaged in peacemaking.

The flames of suspicion, hate and fear swept over our country in the 1940s and 1950s, fanned by the zealous anti-Communist Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy. The current campaign in the United States to vilify Muslims is certainly reminiscent of the McCarthyism of the 1950s. Sure, its roots precede the attacks of 9/11, but we can see that it clearly exploded after that date.

September 11, 2001 is a day that will never and should never be forgotten. On that day, in the space of a few short hours, two tragedies took place. The first and most painful: almost three thousand Americans lost their lives in the horrific terrorist attacks. This in turn unleashed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where almost five thousand more Americans have died. But a second tragedy also occurred on 9/11.

I rejoice that we are honoring Dr. King. Nevertheless, I wonder if we really get how disturbing and radical his message was. As my good friend and colleague Jim Mullins reminds me, peacemakers sometimes have to be peace disturbers to be effective.

Already when we lived in Egypt from 1989 to 1992, it had become a rare sight to see young women without the hijab (hair covering, plus modest dress of one sort or another), except for the Christian girls. My wife always went out with a scarf on her head, if only to show that she was not a “loose western woman,” as depicted in the American soap operas Egyptians loved to watch.