WASHINGTON, 9 May 2003 — Leading American evangelical Christians for the first time have publicly condemned assaults on Islam by the Rev. Franklin Graham and other fellow religious conservatives and pledged to heal rifts with Muslims that threaten missionary work overseas.
The evangelicals said that the derisive comments endangered Christians working in the Muslim world, strained already tense interfaith relations and fed the perception in the Mideast and beyond that the war on terrorism is a Christian crusade against Islam.
“We must temper our speech,” said the Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 43,000 congregations and helped organize a meeting on the issue Wednesday. “There has to be a way to do good works without raising alarms.”
Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom, a human rights group, said anti-Islam comments serve only to antagonize people. “Exactly what is to be achieved by that except boosting the ego of who said it?” he asked.
Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is among Graham’s harshest critics, said she was encouraged by Wednesday’s meeting. About 50 representatives of evangelical churches, schools and mission groups attended.
“We can understand theological differences but what’s important is that the dialogue is one of respect, not demonization,” Hassan said.
Muslims were outraged when Franklin Graham called Islam “a very evil and wicked religion” following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Revs. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson also have criticized the religion.
The evangelical group and the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a conservative Christian organization, are drafting guidelines to begin interfaith dialogue with Islamic leaders.
Haggard suggested holding a meeting with Falwell, Robertson and other high-profile evangelicals to explain the damage their comments have caused.
