Baptist, other religious leaders challenge anti-Muslim rhetoric

Against a background of mounting anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence,
Baptist and other religious leaders spoke out Aug. 30 against
Islamophobia and urged federal officials to take a more proactive role
in safeguarding Muslims’ civil rights.

A group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders held a press
conference at a Washington church denouncing the rhetoric and attacks –
including a suspicious Aug. 28 fire
at the construction site of a mosque that has stirred significant
controversy in Murfreesboro, Tenn.; the Aug. 24 attempted murder of a
Muslim taxi driver in New York; and a conservative Florida church’s
plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11 as an anti-Islamic
protest.

“We’re shifting from fear to fear-mongering, from misunderstanding
to misinformation, from legitimate speech to hate speech to hate
violence,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on
American Islamic Relations, in the conference at Washington’s Western Presbyterian Church.
The church was chosen as the setting for the briefing partially because
its sanctuary hosts Friday prayer services for Muslim students at the
adjacent George Washington University campus.