It was a beautiful day as many hundreds of us—Jews, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and people of even
more faiths and philosophies— left the Masjid Muhammad on June 3, snaking through the narrow
streets of Germantown, led by a smart drill team of girls from First Presbyterian Church. The clouds dripped light showers
of blessing upon us.
We overflowed the immense sanctuary of St. Vincent’s Roman
Catholic Church. We didn’t even think of trying to squeeze more than half our number into the Germantown Mennonite Church. Thank Heavens for the spacious plant of
the Germantown Jewish Center, which could accommodate all of us—for by then it was pouring rain! In each place of worship
at which we stopped, religious leaders and singers told us that what we were doing—the 6th Annual Interfaith
Walk for Peace and Reconciliation—was pleasing in the sight of the God we all worship.
I believe it will once again be pleasing to God when people of all faiths, led by the National Religious
Campaign Against Torture (www.nrcat.org) join with Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union for a “Day of Action” in
Washington on Tuesday, June 26. This special day is to witness to our concern as Americans that it’s
wrong for us to deny the right of habeas corpus to detainees, that military commissions are no substitute for internationally
recognized courts of justice, that we want Guantanamo shut down, and that torture and “renditions”
must end. We will hold a large rally at the Capitol and then we will lobby our elected representatives. (Neither Patrick Murphy
nor Arlen Specter—both of whom said they would work to restore habeas—have signed on to the legislation now in
Congress—H.R.1415 and Sen. Bill 576.)
“If we condone torture,” Rick Warren, author of The
Purpose-Driven Life, declares, “we yield the moral high ground to our enemies and encourage anyone who hates us
to stoop to using that subhuman level against us. We reap whatever we sow.”
“All of humanity is created in the image of God,” Rabbi David Saperstein says. “Torture
is a profound violation of that principle.” And similarly, Dr. Sayyid Syeed
of the Islamic Society of North America states, “The Koran clearly emphasizes the dignity of all human beings that must
be maintained at all costs.”
I personally am furious that this Administration has brought our republic to this low state. This was a nation of which
I once was proud. It was a pioneer in working for the development of international law. But now it scorns international law.
As a Biblically-grounded preacher and teacher, I want to say “Amen!” to the words of Glen Stassen
of Fuller Seminary: “The Bible teaches that all of us sin, and power corrupts especially when dealing with the
weak and vulnerable—which surely includes prisoners. Biblical Christians know we need the restraint of law, and want
to be law-abiding. It’s not just enough to be against torture; we want the U.S. to be a law-abiding
citizen of the world, respecting international law.”
The organization which I coordinate in Bucks and Montco—the Coalition
for Peace Action (www.peacecoalition.org)—is renting a bus for our members and others to go to D.C. on the 26th. I’m working at
filling it. And for me that’s a matter of faith. Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox
Church puts it, “The deliberate torture of one human being against another is a sin against our Creator, in whose image
we have all been created. This practice should not be condoned or allowed by any government. It must be condemned by all people
of faith, wherever it exists, without exception.”
As a person of faith, will you join us?
The Rev. Al Krass lives in Levittown and attends United Christian Church.
