The Voice of God:
Perspectives on Islam and Religious Tolerance

A Sermon Offered at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lafayette, Indiana
On September 23, 2001
By Rev. Hilary Landau Krivchenia

Chalice Lighting:
As the windows around us glow with a hundred colors of light
So may we feel the countless touches of the holy in our world.
All the names and presences, all the ideas and the persons.
May our shoulders feel the embrace of love
Our eyes feel the gentle brush of vision
Our hands feel the stirring of strength
Our legs feel an infusion of steadiness.
May our houses and this house be cleared with the gentle wind of peace.
May we be renewed in this time together
So that we may set out again
To be the hundred touches of the holy in the world.

Readings 

For we stand in a mighty stream of light – made of the same substance of that light shining from our stars – but, gathering here, we gather in the stream of our history – as Unitarian Universalists – as free thinkers – as heirs and bearers of humanism and of a vision of  – as we will sing of in our closing hymn – a vision of the light expanding. 

I bring you words – letters heaped upon a page heaped into this place – certainly but poured from the union of my mind and heart and your minds and hearts and the cosmos into which we are forever woven.

Revelation used to mean the words of the books I am about to quote from – but even in these readings listen carefully – forever has the human ear listened for deeper truth – and forever has the human voice dared to recount as sacred that light that burns with us more brilliant – and closer -- than the light of galaxies. 

Ecclesiastes 4: 6-12

Better is a handful of quietness,

 Than both the hands full of labour and striving after wind.

4:7.  Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

4:8.  There is one that is alone, and he hath not a second; yea, he hath neither son nor brother; yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches: `for whom then do I labour, and bereave my soul of pleasure?'  This also is vanity, yea, it is a grievous business.

4:9.  Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

4:10.  For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up.

4:11.  Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone?

4:12.  And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

From the Gospel of Mark

7:18.  And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;  7:20.  And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 

For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

4:23.  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

4:24.  And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

4:33.  And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.

And from the Koran:

2:23.  And if ye are in doubt of what we have revealed unto our servant, then bring a chapter like it, and call your witnesses other than God if ye tell truth. 2:42.  Clothe not truth with vanity, nor hide the truth the while ye know.

2:43.  Be steadfast in prayer, give the alms, and bow down with those who bow.

2:44.  Will ye order men to do piety and forget yourselves? ye read the Book, do ye not then understand? 2:269.  he who is brought wisdom is brought much good; but none will remember save those endowed with minds.

We are still in the heart of the Days of Awe – the Jewish New Year. The season of introspection, forgiveness, and reconciliation. During this Ten Day period Jews of good faith take stock of their actions in the last year, made amends to those they have harmed, and set a course for the next year. It has become my habit to be aware of this season, to turn inward during this season and to take stock for the future. That is why I have invited you to do this with me. But this year we are gripped in pain and, perhaps inescapably headed toward battle. Still – what really makes these ten days different from any others? In fact, the burden is always upon us to seek understanding, to examine ourselves morally, and endeavor to lead lives of ethical depth.

After the terrible evil of September 11 a spike of Anti-Islamic violence rose across this country. Hate crimes -- A wave of terrorism driven by pain and fear. At the same time around the country Christians, Jews, Unitarian Universalists, Quakers, and non-believers have gathered at mosques to show their solidarity and trust.

What is the history that has brought us to this pass? What can we learn before it is too late? Is this a war of religious views, does religion lie at the base of all this conflict? Is it simply the voice of god that is at the root of our suffering? Today I would like to visit these questions for a while, I would like to visit Islam a while, under the duress of this crisis and seek some better and perhaps healing understandings.

In 610 of the Common Era a man named Muhammad, who lived near Mecca, was in a cave on a mountain retreat when he was visited in the night by the angel Gabriel. Muhammad said that "the angel whelmed in his embrace until he had reached the limits of my endurance." The Angel commanded him to "Recite!" Muhammad was terrified yet from his own lips the first words of the Koran were spoken. Muhammad ran out of the cave in which the encounter had occurred and upward on the mountainside, thinking to kill himself rather than be possessd by some demon. But the Angel stopped him by speaking again " O Muhammad! Thou art the apostle of God and I am Gabriel."

Later that night, shaken, Muhammad returned to his wife Khadijah and threw himself into her protective embrace. Older than he by many years she was not only his comfort and wife but a guide and spiritual advisor.

Over the next 22 years of his life Muhammad recited the new verses of the Koran and lead a movement that ushered in an unprecedented harmony and united all of the Arab world.

Muhammad was born in 570 near Mecca during a time of strife and upheaval. Arabia was a large and wild area – too wild even for Persia or Byzantium – who flanked it – to bother with. Arabia had few resources – that any one really know about and the tribes were locked in violent conflict. Poverty was epidemic, infanticide was common, and women were abused and oppressed. As Muhammad was growing up, the Quraysh – the larger tri bal region around Mecca – suddenly become stronger and more prosperous, although his own clan – the Hashim – was poorer than the others. The tribes began to relocate in towns and cities and the nomadic life faded. As the nomadic life faded, the values and practices of that life became less and less workable – chaos was erupting. Muhammad was a man who honored the ways of his people, the religious traditions and customs but he was also a keen observer of the life of his people and an acute analytical thinker. He saw the degraded state to which his people had fallen. He knew that peace, stability, and prosperity were needed. He was a humble, ordinary man but, like the Emperor Constantine, three hundred years before, he knew that unity was needed and he believed, like Constantine before him, that religious unity would be the most powerful force. But there the similarity ends. For the religion that would become Islam has never demanded that people convert. Islam was meant to be the new revelation for the Arab world – a Prophet to and for the Arab people. Islam has demanded the right to worship and the right to have their God and their Prophet unmaligned. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity before it, is a religion of its time. When Muhammad went to the Mountain he received inspiration – but the inspiration came to a man deeply of his time. Muhammad was personally progressive. Although he had many wives he was a believer in the wisdom and power of women. Karen Armstrong, in her biography of the Prophet, speaks of his love and respect for his wives – they were leaders and teachers with him and after him. And he loved children – his own and all others. One anecdote tells of his carrying around one of his grandchildren on his shoulders and someone saying to the child "How lucky you are to ride on the shoulders of the Prophet" and Muhammad’s response "How majestic is the rider!" The Koran brought the Arab world light years into civilization in a few short years because it could speak to them of the struggle in which they lived, in their own time, and in their own language – in their own frame of reference. It was an era of complex social interactions and transactions. The Koran spoke to all of that. It married the best of the old traditions with the best of the new. It gave form and direction to life. The Koran stands solidly upon the base of the Five Pillars – they are essential to it.

The first Pillar is the Shahadah " There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet." Allah is not the name of some particular God but simply the unified transcendent underlying most religions. Any monotheistic religion is considered kindred in spirit. The acceptance of the Prophet Muhammad does not exclude earlier or other prophets -- Muslims believe there were 124,000 were prophets prior to Muhammad.

The second Pillar is prayer, which must be done five times a day. The most important time being, interestingly enough, noon on Friday.

The third Pillar is Charity – annually 2.5% of one’s holdings should be given to the poor.

The fourth Pillar is the observance of Ramadan.

And the final Pillar is Pilgrimage – the Hajj. This pilgrimage in part predates Muhammad as Mecca was a holy place and the Ka’aba a sacred object long before Islam. Each Muslim should engage in the Hajj once in their lifetime. This involves putting on simple pilgrim garb, traveling to Mecca, and walking around the Ka’aba.

These five Pillars hold up the house of Islam. They require Islam itself – the word means surrender. Surrender to the will of God.

During Muhammad’s lifetime in an interesting mixture of negotiation and warfare, Islam absorbed one tribe after another. The once highly warlike Arab world developed the notion of Jihad, which most of us know now is not merely a Just War but any struggle to preserve the life and health of the faith. Jihad could be internal or external. It could not violate the central tenets of Islam but it could rise to defend the faith. There were tense encounters, some peaceful, some violent, with Christians and Jews. There were battles to gain control of places holy to the Muslim world – such as Jerusalem. But within this framework, so little different than any imperialist framework, Muhammad codified a strong religious tolerance. Muhammad only lived for 22 years after his vision on the mountain. There were struggles for power and rifts that opened that remain open to this day but largely Islam was one world, because of the foundation that Mohammad laid.

Once unification was achieved, there were many years of relative harmony in the Arab world and the faith prospered and grew. The sciences were welcomed and respected and the arts were pursued. Cities like Cordova, Spain, were rich cultural centers where Jews found refuge in a hostile Europe and where, Christians, also, could live and worship in peace. Monotheism, at least, found a common ground in Islam.

As we have been reading, even in our own newspaper, Islam does not exalt violence – not any more than do Judaism or Christianity. Yet, the contact between these faiths has produced explosions time and time again. The relationship between Islam and Judaism was long a harmonious one. The deep roots of the Koranic vision and the Muslim experience in the Torah made the two religions not only compatible but kin in practice and spirit. The story is that Islam is also the child of Abraham fulfilling the promise of God – through his son Ishmael by Hagar his servant: "behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." The deep rift that would emerge between these faith brothers, as between Ishmael and Isaac, had more to do with the political conflicts that were created around them. The two were often painted together as the obstacles to the Christian Kingdom of God on Earth. One as a faith, Judaism, that would not accept the prophecy of Jesus Christ and the other, Islam, that had continued revelation, through Muhammad, after the life of Jesus Christ. Both were heresy to the early Christian mind. In truth, the rapid rise and expansion of the Christian world threatened Islam, just as it threatened Judaism. By the 11^th Century Europe was experiencing some breakdown. There was a rise of violence and internal strife among the nobles – particularly in the area around the Rhine River. There was spreading discontent. It was not easy to unite all of Europe under the governance of Catholic Rome. And then the Crusades began to save the world for Christendom and to reclaim the holy place of Jerusalem. They began in the Rhine Valley where a generation of landless noble sons drifted. After massacring the Jewish Communities along the Rhine Valley the Crusaders moved toward the Middle East. Gathering excitement and growing in number. And you know the rest. Hostility toward Islam did not subside until Europe was, largely free of Muslims. Hostility toward Judaism only rose and fell according to the political climate. In the nineteenth century with the flowering of European imperialism both Judaism and Islam came under attack again. Movements against Muslim countries violated long standing agreements with the Christian world.

Myths and stories that created bigoted stereotypes were pervasive in Europe – even the word – Turk – which we have in one of our hymns rings gently with that prejudice. I can hear it in my blood memory. Infidels. There was Mahmoud the monster. Mahomet the proud, greedy, lustful, and violent. Even Thomas Carlyle condemned the Koran as wearisome and long-winded. Christianity was us – well some of us – and Islam was them.

So here we stand facing the bloody history of ages and looking into the bloody present. There is a part of me that is tempted, in spite of my vocation – and perhaps even because of my vocation -- to say that religion is the root of this Evil. That wherever creeds are demanded fractures and conflict will occur. While there have been periods in which, in highly enforced tolerance, various faiths could peacefully coexist, it true that religion can be a weapon. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus said: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Easy to misinterpret. Though the sword he meant was the sword of faith that may divide people – that may sever people from dead habit, from greed. Religion is, in that way, double edged. In retrospect, that sword has been used greatly and split the world into armed camps. Governments have justified their assaults with scripture and claimed ownership of the divine. And here I would add that this is no different than the work of ideological nations – whose ideologies then exclude and extinguish all others. It is no different than the work of rampant nationalism that binds together a people in one mind and voice and erases all others. Remember that the word religare means to bind together. This can be a positive act of creating community or a destructive act of tying tightly to squeeze out the other. I hear that theme as we are whipped into a fervor for our new Just War. A double edged sword –a weapon.

When I began to work on this sermon the theme that I wanted to explore was the theme of the voice of God where did that theme go? I wanted to explore it because I observed that where the voice of God is heard there can be either a reign of beauty or of terror. I observed that in the history of Islam the Koran had made possible order and peace – for its time, according to the possibilities of its time.

There are three Abrahamic religions – religions which are traced back to the lineage and story of Abraham. Each has its history of prophets and revelations. Of bushes aflame and commandments. Of father claims on life and previsions of betrayal. Of Angels bringing a new poetry of order. Every Prophet in the Biblical tradition is a Prometheus on the heroes’ journey that retrieves fire. That fire can bring the light of wisdom, freedom, justice, and peace or it can burn out of control and destroy life.

I think that my favorite story will always be that of Abraham arguing with God. To me the real danger seems to be when the prophecy is frozen in time unarguable – an insight that cannot be questioned – an order that cannot be adjusted to meet new needs in time – that cannot grow with history – and that fears history – that fears change. That is fundamentalism – it shackles people to a prophecy that arose in a time and place – prophecy that had insight for that time and place and could be understood best in the context of that time and place. It can silence people’s hearts so that they put ideas above lives. Or fundamentalism can rewrite the prophecy to serve the fears of the present and reinterpret the meanings of the past – like the hate-filled words of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell – who use their faith to justify hating what they hate. Fundementalism can bring a frenzy that fuels the planes of terrorists.

I do not condemn the early prophets – they were heroes and did bring fire back to us. But living revelation changes in time. It is encouraged to change in time. Like the arguing of Rabbi’s – at home I have a book entitled Two Jews, Three Opinions. Like the insights of Erasmus or Thomas Merton or Daniel Berrigan. Or like the teaching of Malcom X – ideas, faiths that change in time. I think that it is only when we grow with history, when we quell our fears, when we live and argue with even with life as it is that there is any hope for a better life.

I was lucky during my Clinical Pastoral Education unit to work with a great team -- A liberal Presbyterian, a devout African Evangelical Christian, and a Muslim Imam. Darnell Kareem was a tall, gentle man – a man in his fifties-sixties. He had grown up in the early days of the Nation of Islam. He had been taught in study circles and nourished on the struggles of the civil rights movement. He would tell me stories of his childhood as the Nation of Islam developed its identity. Once he told me a story of being brought up on stage as a boy to sing an opening prayer in Arabic before Malcolm X spoke. Our group was a major encounter of religions and persons – three women and one man. Darnell was a devout person – that was clear – he walked and spoke with that intense gentleness that is the earmark of practitioners of faith. However, he was always open and interested by every thought and feeling around him. He enjoyed our differences and was as eager to hear of my very iconoclastic views and unconventional history as he was to share his own. When I think of Islam it is loving and reasoning Darnell of whom I think. In him Islam had grown in time: It served the poor, united the people in pride and hope, respected the underlying truths of all faiths – and the underlying possibilities of skepticism, it kept faith with tradition but lived in the present with hope for the future.

Religion – all religion – is a double edged sword. Our religion rose to protest when the great awakenings began – because we saw people loose their minds to fear and to outworn interpretations of prophecy. We spoke for reason and for love and, at that time we feared all enthusiasm – all in-breaths of the spirit. Later even this vision changed – to include natural prophets like Emerson, like Robert Green Ingersoll, Clarence Skinner, and Kenneth Patton. Our revelation is ongoing. Over time we have come to see that inspiration and religion are not the dangers – it is unreason -- the shuttered mind and the hardened heart that is the danger.

Religion can be the binding together of people in love and justice and freedom or in the death of wonder and all. I think that we, Unitarian Universalists, are uniquely suited to spanning the differences of this day – to bridging differences and to making peace. I believe that we have an underlying spirit of love – inherited from our Universalism -- wedded to a committed use of reason which can hold all religions in respect while calling us all to account for zealotry. During these days of Awe – as we awaken to a scene we could not imagine we also are invited into a new understanding of the world and one another. Let our intelligent and patient attention deepen – our attention to the real character of Islam, to the cries of suffering on Earth, to what is truly sacred, to our internal wisdom, and to the creation of a just world.