Saturday, December 30, 2006
The type of fuzzy-headed thinking exhibited here by Nick Carter of Andover Newton Theological School and David Gordis of Hebrew College is exactly the type of mushy, no-substance argument that has people feeling that so many of the establishment religious institutions are increasingly irrelevant. One would never know that there may be real issues of substance behind the differences in this case, and they can't just be papered over with rounds of Kumbaya. You would think that of all places, religious educational institutions would be concerned with substance and specifics. How does the Islamic Society of Boston feel about misogynist, homophobic, anti-semitic Sheik Yusuff Qaradawhi -- a man in the past they've said the community admires and someone who they desired to have on their board of directors -- how do they feel about him now, for instance? Is that relevant? I think so. Why should the state be indirectly subsidizing this group?
Schools try to patch rift in mosque project - Roxbury building led to lawsuits
Nick Carter , the president of Andover Newton Theological School, and David Gordis, president of Hebrew College, yesterday announced that they had sent a joint letter to leaders of the Islamic Society of Boston, which is building the mosque, and The David Project, a Jewish organization that has raised questions about the mosque's leadership, offering outlines for a resolution to the long-running and bitter dispute. Andover Newton and Hebrew College are located on the same hilltop in Newton Centre, and their jointly sponsored program, the Interreligious Center for Public Life, has met with both the Islamic Society and the David Project in an effort to find a solution.
The two presidents proposed not only that the two groups drop their suits, but that they issue a joint statement condemning terrorism, declare their shared support for the construction of houses of worship, support the creation of a new center for interfaith understanding, and that they hold a joint "celebratory event."
"We don't mind being called naive, but there's a simplicity about this that tries to say to each of them that we think this is something worthy of your consideration -- it's a chance for peace to break out," Carter said. "It has rarely produced productive results to try and go back and find out who was to blame. Sometimes it's easier to try and listen carefully to what each is trying to say."...
Naive.
As I wrote about this a little while ago, http://misskelly.typepad.com/miss_kelly_/2006/12/more_naivete_an.html
"I used to think that such people were naive but well-intentioned. I no longer give them such credit."
Carter and Gordis think that the ISB and the David Project should issue "a joint statement condemning terrorism"?!
Unbelievable.
I wonder what precipitated this renewed call for mediation?