From: Georgetown School of Medicine Student Affairs
To: Students at the School of Medicine –
Subject: Letter to our Muslim Brothers and Sisters at the School of Medicine
Dear students, faculty and staff of the Medical School, Peace!
In collaboration with all of my fellow chaplains, across this University, I wish to stand in solidarity with them and with our Muslim community, especially those who study, and teach and serve in the healing ministry here at Georgetown Medical Center. All of us have been deeply grieved recently at the senseless loss of life brought about through acts of violence and terror, not only in our own country but around the world. We stand with all the innocent victims and their families and communities and the untold suffering endured, especially as we begin today to celebrate a Jubilee Year of Peace, Mercy and Forgiveness as called for by Pope Francis. Indeed these are very troubling and anxious times, made worse by the harsh rhetoric of some unthinking politicians and their crass and rash generalizations impugning and mischaracterizing the whole Islamic community and religion. I pray that we will stand up as one rejecting all forms of violence and bigotry and demeaning language that attempts to set up divisions and mistrust and animosity, one group towards another.
As a Catholic and Jesuit university, we have long been committed to interreligious dialogue. As a family and community, we value and cherish and hold dear, all of our brothers and sisters, no matter their background or beliefs. It is this respect and understanding, this realization of the dignity of all life, that will ultimately lead to a lasting Peace in our world. Let us treasure the friendships we have with one another, through our studying together, through our working and serving together and through our praying for each other. These are the best antidotes to violent extremism and the vile rhetoric that seeks only to scare and divide.
As this year of 2015 is fast drawing to a close, let us continue in earnest the work of promoting lasting Peace, Harmony and Justice, in a world so desperately in need.
May you experience Blessings of Peace and Joy!
Sincerely yours,
Fr. Salvador Jordan, S.J.,Chaplain-Director Campus Ministry, School of Medicine – Georgetown University, 9 December 2015
Bravo! It is how religion should be.
I concur with the remarks here insofar as I irrational bigotry should always be fought against. Many far right activists will use the excuse of terrorism in order to express hatred. They are not interested in doing anything constructive, only breeding fear and resentment.
Having said that, its also wrong for many people on the Left to use the unfortunate existence of anti Muslim racism in order to shut down any criticism of Islam. This links to the issue of political correctness as discussed yesterday. We won’t confront bigotry unless we distinguish between those who are genuinely concerned about the link between Islam and terror, and those who are simply hateful and prejudice. For many of the Left, any criticism of Islam, or any link between Islam and terrorism, must be ‘Islamophobic’ and therefore not allowed to be said. This mentality has to stop.
There also has to be a distinction made between those who oppose Muslim immigration for cultural and economic reasons, and those for oppose it on the grounds of racial purity. Again, the Left’s refusal to see this distinction has pushed many good people in supporting the far right, because they believe they have no alternative. We should confront genuine hatred when we see it, but we should also be careful not to misdiagnose any opposition to pacifism, open borders and religion as racist and therefore not a valid opinion.
That’s fine, Owen. Some “political correctness” is nonsense and very irritating. But maybe the context of the posting wasn’t sufficiently clear. I don’t know Fr. Jordan (above), but he was trying to reassure the moslems in the school of medicine. There are a lot of moslems in Washington. It is a prime target for terrorists, and everyone here is very aware it. The very least employers can do is to try to keep local moslems on side. The letter would make no impression whatsoever on a jihadist, I know, but it is common sense not to make a threatening situation worse. I reproduced the letter as an example of what needs to be done, and to show how open minded the local Catholic establishment is. I hope things like this have a positive effect. This afternoon we were with two Muslims – the wife was relaxed, but the husband looked very on edge, quite suspicious, actually, though why I have no idea. We both remarked on it. Difficult for them.