As people around the world struggle to find a response to the violence erupting in neighborhoods, members of Interfaith Communities in Action feel moved to combine our voice to the many voices speaking out against violence in the form of terrorism and violence in the form of hatred and bigotry. We reject judging all people of a particular faith for the actions of a few, and renew our commitment to compassion and hospitality.
As people around the world struggle to find a response to the violence erupting in neighborhoods, members of Interfaith Communities in Action feel moved to combine our voice to the many voices speaking out against violence in the form of terrorism and violence in the form of hatred and bigotry. We reject judging all people of a particular faith for the actions of a few, and renew our commitment to compassion and hospitality.
We are outraged, deeply saddened and frustrated with the horrific terrorist attacks. We stand in solidarity with those whose work is to investigate, expose, disrupt and defeat the individuals and organizations perpetrating these attacks and promoting division, hatred, fear and violence.
We join people of goodwill who are refraining from labeling, categorizing and stereotyping any person according to their religion, culture, language, dress or other factor and attributing to them negative beliefs, motives and attitudes based on the acts of others.
Each person in our society deserves to be accorded respect, freedom of action and goodwill until and unless they prove otherwise by their own conduct.
Interfaith Communities in Action is an association of more than a dozen faith communities in East Hawaii. We are Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish and more. We remember times when different communities have been singled out for persecution. Memories of the Jewish Holocaust and the internment of Japanese-Americans are still painfully alive for many of us. We know that an environment that allows any single group among us to be treated as inherently suspect, as second-class citizens, is an invitation to violence.
Fear is a natural response to terrorism. Terrorism is designed to create fear and divide people into “us” versus “them.” Even if fear is inevitable, it is possible to respond to terrorism in ways that do not serve the terrorists. People can grieve together, work through fear and risk living the values that make life worth living.
In Hawaii, people of many different cultural backgrounds, ethnicities and faith traditions live together with respect and mutual appreciation. Those of us who live in Hawaii know that it’s not a perfect paradise.
There are real challenges in our community, and some among us struggle to fully participate in its blessings. However, even though the ideal of aloha is a continuing work in progress, it is alive and well in the islands. This is a gift that Hawaii can offer the world: Confront terrorism with more aloha, not less.
The values of compassion and hospitality call us to reach out to those among us who are most vulnerable, especially those of us who are Muslim or might be perceived to be Muslim, and invite the community at large to join us. We ask people in positions of authority to make it clear that discrimination and harassment on the basis of religion or ethnicity is not acceptable behavior.
We are aware that young people are particularly targeted and vulnerable to divisive propaganda and harassment. We hope all of us who care for young people increase our efforts to help them feel connected to each other, to the larger community of Hawaii and to the whole world we share.
Bob Gunderson and Catherine Ishida of Interfaith Communities in Action wrote this on behalf of the organization.