Covenant News

Letter of Friendship Sent to Muslim Communities

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (October 19, 2001) - A letter of friendship and reconciliation signed by 369 students and faculty of Minnehaha Academy has been sent to a number of Muslim communities.

"We believe that this is a document portraying the true spirit of Jesus," said Dr. Jeffrey Crafton, chair of the Bible department at Minnehaha Academy. The letter was produced by Crafton and his students in his Honors Christian Ethics course.

The letter reads as follows:

The events of September 11 have profoundly affected all of us. All people of good will are deeply disturbed that the actions of a few have caused so much pain for so many. It is our prayer that these events will inspire each of us to seek after peace, reconciliation and justice for all people of the earth with even greater zeal.

In addition, as a Christian community we have been deeply disturbed that some in our nation have been acting hurtfully toward you, our Muslim neighbors. Despite having different faiths, we wish to live together with you as brothers and sisters. We rejoice that your faith, as ours, teaches the peace and brotherhood of all people under God. We weep with you that some persons in both of our communities do not understand this teaching. We join you in condemning the actions of those misguided few who wish to divide and destroy rather than to unite and reconcile.

We also wish to apologize and ask forgiveness for the ways in which the behavior of Christians, both past and present, may have caused harm to you, our Muslim brothers and sisters. It is shameful that misunderstanding, stereotyping and even hatred have occurred so often in the history of Christian-Muslim relations. This is not what Jesus taught, it does not represent the message of Christianity and it is not what we desire or stand for. We humbly repent before God for our part in this ongoing tragedy.

We join with you in grieving the loss of so many lives in the events of September 11 and in longing for a just peace. We hope that we will all emerge from this time with greater knowledge of what it means to be instruments of God's healing and reconciliation.

Finally, as fellow Americans and fellow citizens of this world, we appreciate your contributions to our worldwide community. We welcome you, we affirm you and we offer our support to you. We are glad that you are our neighbors and fellow citizens in this community, in this nation and in this world.

Peace be with you all.

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