The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev David Chillingworth, joined other church leaders and faith community representatives on the ‘9/11 walk for peace’ in Edinburgh yesterday.
He said, “The 9/11 attacks changed the course of our present-day history. They provided a pretext for those who wish to cast suspicion on Islam and to damage inter-faith relationships. They also created a situation in which it was possible to caricature all religious faith as the preserve of fanatics.
In taking part in the ‘walk for peace’ this Sunday we witnessed to our shared desire to build peace in our own community and across the world. We expressed in common action the growing strength of inter-faith and inter-church relationships. We shared our continuing concern and prayer for those who were bereaved and injured on 9/11 and in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Local readings from Bible and Koran give global message of solidarity and peace
A Priest and Imam together read aloud scripture from the Bible and Koran yesterday to mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. As a symbol of unity for the local community and beyond, The Rev Isaac Poobalan of St John’s Episcopal Church, Aberdeen and Imam Sheik Abul Hassan, of the neighbouring Mosque stood side by side at 1pm on Sunday 11outside their respective Church and Mosque and read aloud verses from the Old Testament of the Bible and from the Koran.
The scripture readings and prayers were followed by a community procession from St John’s Episcopal Church to St Nicholas Parish Church, where further readings and prayers will follow. The Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, the Rt Rev Dr Bob Gillies, joined the procession and said “the mutual respect and working together of St John’s Church and the neighbouring Mosque is an excellent model of collaboration between two historic faiths and there is a very high level of goodwill shared between them. I am particularly delighted that they have read scripture together on 11 September, a date that is etched in the memories of many people. Those who attacked the twin towers on 11 September 2001 were terrorists, and I condemn all acts of terrorism. They were not representative of the historic traditions of Islam, which like Christianity has a message of peace and goodwill that everyone needs to hear. The work between St John’s Church and the Mosque is a local illustration of that global message.”
The close Christian-Muslim relationship has developed over recent years, following the building of a Mosque on the grounds of St John’s Episcopal Church. Last year, both opened their doors as part of the national Doors Open Day to enable people to take part in a walk of peace and harmony along the cloister that joins the Mosque to the Church, and encouraged mutual respect and understanding of different faiths through joint prayers and reflections. The close relationship has an added poignancy in that a member of the St John’s congregation, Justin Stratis, was in New York on the day of the twin towers attack and says “as an American Christian living in New York during the terrorist attacks in 2001 the feeling of walking into the Mosque from the Church on Doors Open Day was overwhelming. The sharing of even our most sacred spaces with one another was truly a bright light in what at that time was a dark week for Muslim-Christian relations. Would that more religious groups have the courage and humility to pursue such sharing.”