Following the arson attack on the Islamic Centre in Luton yesterday, Luton Council of Faiths made the following statement, which I have signed as Churches Together In Luton representative on LCOF. It is reported in the local Luton and Dunstable Express: Council of Faiths 'shock' at arson attack.
'We note with regret and extreme sadness that the extremist views and actions across ethnic and religious backgrounds are affecting people of Luton negatively.
'The sanctity of places of worship is an internationally accepted responsibility and as a faiths council we are extremely distressed at the way in which the Islamic Centre has been attacked as much as we were distressed when earlier the Quaker Centre called Friends Meeting House in Luton was broken into.
'So during this difficult and challenging time we strongly urge forces of moderation to remain strongly committed in searching for a sustainable peaceful and harmonious co-existence.
'We pledge our strong resolve to continue playing an active role in improving understanding and respect amongst the many religious and culturally diverse communities in the town.
'Through this statement we wish to convey a message of unity and solidarity against all forms of extremism, and as people of faith express our firm determination and strong commitment to combat extremism in all its forms'.
Its a privilege to be able to sign such a statement and through it to seek to live in the attitude of a peacemaker that I believe is central to the claim of Jesus Christ on my life.
Once again that peace has to become a practical reality for people to see, to know we care. Terrorism seeks, very simply, to create terror. Nothing very profound about that. Yet it is profound, because terror can shut down the "flight response"; people stand dumbfounded. It leads to irrational acts. It makes people lash out. Terror works by escalating wildly the response, but in an unpredictable way. As a peacemaker I am learning to live in that peace (but to be honest not very well just yet), a peace that has to be supernatural to penetrate past the response of terror. I am forced to draw upon the deep resources of my faith at such times, and do all I can to shelter others. That is the only way I can show the love of Christ at such a time.
We seem regularly to be making such statements in recent years. No one wants to do that, yet each time we are able to go further, deeper, get more real. It happened after 9/11 in 2001 - I wasn't around then. It happened after 7/7 - the London bombings in 2005. (Zafar Khan, Muslim chair of LCOF spoke on BBC Three Counties here very soon after the bombs, condemning the attacks. Also Dr Fiaz Hussain, Chair of the Council of Mosques is recorded in written form here and in voice here) And it has happened on other occasions.)
This is faith doing what faith does best, allowing God to enter in, to speak to the terrible stuff that happens in the world and change it. There is a lot of anger about just now, but when we get stuck in that it just leads to more anger and violence, and we are denied the possibility of God breaking into situations.
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