“Meditations for a Time of Crisis” indeed. “The greatest memorial to those who died 10 years ago will be a world more inclined toward peace.” Indeed, indeed. I don’t see how such a world can be brought about without understanding why 9/11 happened. As long as they’re having Qur’an readings in Newark, I suggest these as meditations on why they’re having any special ceremonies on September 11 in the first place:
Qur’an 98:4-6: “Nor did the People of the Book make schisms, until after there came to them Clear Evidence. And they have been commanded no more than this: To worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular prayer; and to practise regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and Straight. Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein (for aye). They are the worst of creatures.”
Qur’an 5:14: “From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We did take a covenant, but they forgot a good part of the message that was sent them: so we estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the one and the other, to the day of judgment. And soon will Allah show them what it is they have done.”
Qur’an 4:171: “O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not “Three” – Cease! (it is) better for you! – Allah is only One Allah. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender.”
Qur’an 4:157: “And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s messenger – they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain.”
Qur’an 5:116: “And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? he saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then Thou knewest it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy Mind. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower of Things Hidden?”
Qur’an 19:35: “It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”
Qur’an 9:30-31: “And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they! They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One Allah. There is no Allah save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)!”
Qur’an 9:29: “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”
“Episcopal Church to mark 10th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks,” by Matthew Davies for the Episcopal News Service, August 18:
Episcopal Church and other religious leaders are planning interfaith events to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when almost 3,000 people perished after hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The Executive Council, at its June meeting, invited all Episcopal communities “to open the doors of their institutions” during the Sept. 10-11 weekend to commemorate the anniversary “with acts of prayer and remembrance, service, creativity, interfaith cooperation, education, community building, and fellowship, offering our institutions as active, accessible sites of healing for our local communities.”
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in an Aug. 18 statement that the anniversary is “an opportunity for reflection,” adding that the Episcopal Church “continues to work for healing and reconciliation.”
“The greatest memorial to those who died 10 years ago will be a world more inclined toward peace,” said Jefferts Schori, who will preach at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, at St. Paul’s Chapel in New York, a few meters from where the World Trade Center stood, and at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.
Acknowledging that “many people died senselessly that day, and [that] many still grieve their loss,” the presiding bishop said, “We believe there is hope.” […]
Washington National Cathedral has announced a three-day commemoration, titled “A Call to Compassion,” in collaboration with the Pentagon Memorial Fund, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and the Flight 93 National Memorial. The three days will culminate on Sept. 11, when the cathedral will toll its 12-ton funeral bell at the moments when airplanes struck the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center, hit the Pentagon, and crashed in Pennsylvania. […]
Also on Sept. 11, the cathedral will hold an interfaith prayer vigil from 8:30 to 10 a.m., when participants of diverse faiths can pray together and mark the moments when the airplanes struck. The vigil will be attended by Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III; Bishop of Washington John Bryson Chane; Rabbi Bruce Lustig, Washington Hebrew Congregation; Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche of Tibet, Buddhist nun and incarnate lama; D.C. Rao, a Hindu priest serving on the board of directors of the Inter Faith Conference; Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the [Hamas-linked] Islamic Society of North America; and musician Hamayan Kahn.
A forum on compassion from 10:15 to 11 a.m. will include author Karen Armstrong and Cathedral Dean Lloyd leading a conversation on what people of faith share in common. […]
In the Diocese of Newark, Bishop Mark Beckwith will be joined by Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz of Temple B’Nai Jeshurun in Short Hills and Imam W. Deen Shareef of Masjid Waarith ud Deen in Irvington to lead an interfaith service, titled “Compassion in Action,” at 3 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Trinity & St. Philip’s Cathedral in Newark.
The service will blend scripture and reflections based on the Old and New Testaments and the Qur’an, music from the Jewish and Christian traditions and the Al-Adhaan, the Islamic call to worship. […]
Meanwhile, liturgical resources to help congregations commemorate the anniversary are been offered from several sources. The Diocese of Long Island has published suggested collects, readings and hymns here, while Forward Movement has set up a webpage of resources here, including “Meditations for a Time of Crisis,” a special issue of Forward Day by Day that was written in the days immediately following 9/11. […]
The National Council of Churches also has prepared worship resources for churches, including a liturgy and a new hymn for use in 9/11 services of remembrance.
“For Christians in the U.S. and around the world, this 10th anniversary will be a time of prayer and remembrance for those who were lost, as well as a time for each of us to seek to discern God’s will for ending the hatred and resentments that spawned the violence,” said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC general secretary….