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Do Not Burn Books
The seven verses of Al-Fatiha, the first sura of the Qur'an.
I admit, I am a lover of books. I do not wish them to be burned or otherwise destroyed. I am particularly fond of books about the Sacred. I reverence the Hebrew and Christian scriptures of the Bible in a particular way because I am a Catholic Christian. But I also respect the sacred books of other traditions, inluding the Qur’an of our Muslim sisters and brothers.
While not a scholar of biblioclasm, I have a general sense that whenever books are burnt, things do not go well. Wikipedia (which is probably backed up so many times that it can’t be burned) has a long list of book-burning events that make me simultaneously sad and horrified. Undoubtedly, the Florida pastor whose Qur’an burning event was just canceled (praise God) will be listed here among other book burning events that sadly were successful. And lest we think the pastor is just one person, we can easily assume that others have this attitude.
As we approach the memorial of 9/11, I suggest a humble alternative to burning books. Educate yourself. Read books. Expand your mind and your heart. Cherish diversity. Allow love and respect for people to dominate all conversations, arguments, and disagreements. It’s not easy. But it’s totally possible.
Here’s a stunning example of how an open heart can be transformative not only for oneself but for our world.
The Healers of 9/11
By Nicholas D. Kristof, Op-Ed Columnist for the New York TimesThis weekend, a Jewish woman who lost her husband in the 9/11 attacks is planning to speak at a mosque in Boston. She will be trying to recruit members of the mosque to join her battle against poverty and illiteracy in Afghanistan.
Read the rest of the article, The Healers of 9/11.
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I am not certain if it was mid-September 2002 or 2003 – but the remainder of the “baggage claim” memory is a permanently seared. After boarding the plane, I casually greeted the person seated next to my assigned seat with my typical head nod and “Hey, how are ya?”. He immediately looked up and seemed startled but after a few minutes of observing me, we posed the ordinary litany of superficial seatmate questions – where are you headed, business vs personal, etc.
We continued to chat and he let on that his team was headed to play in the cricket championship. As I sports fan, I enjoyed learning about cricket as he shared: the game basics, a childhood memory, recent playoff games highlights (and lowlights) and his overall passion and love for the game, his teammates, fans, traditions, etc.
As we were deplaning, I asked, “Where are your teammates?” (if his team was all flying on this flight). He responded, “No, ‘they’ thought it best that we not fly together – so, we are traveling in twos and threes”. Not fully understanding his reply but sensing “something” in his voice, I made a general statement regarding my employer’s travel risk mitigation rules; reassured him that statistically flying was relatively safe “choice” and wished him and his team “Luck”.
A few minutes later, while exiting the baggage claim area, I heard this now familiar voice with heavy accent saying “Excuse me. Excuse me.” As I turned around it was now I who was startled – as it was my seatmate, searching for me. He paused and now disclosing great pain in his eyes stated, “I had to find you, as I wanted to thank you for making me feel human again these past few hours”. It was then that I was finally able to see the baggage that he had been carrying all along.
I call this memory my baggage claim lesson and SJ your words “Allow love and respect for people to dominate” really resonate within me as I recall this lesson learned. And I pray going forward; I will not be so “baggage blind” at the onset.
Julie, check out this from Syracuse (it’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow): http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf/2010/09/kindness_its_americas_higher_i.html Similar initiatives are happening everywhere; for more of what we are doing, see: http://www.wtb.org/
beautifully said.